A Lost Soul
by 322n
Summary: With the scars of the War that he bears, Yunero walks upon the battlefield of men against the Grimm of Remnant. After all, victory is a forgone conclusion for the last Juggernaut. Or is it?
1. Prologue

**28/9, 5.10pm. Minor edit: Fixed some minor errors for first paragraph.**

 **"JUGGERNAUT!"** As he finished the last Omnislash strike against Axe, the self proclaimed Red Mist General fell, Juggernaut watched as his figure slumping as the life left Axe. With no resistance left before him, the Juggernaut began his sprint towards the Dire Ancient. His ailles, were all dead but he had managed to pull off a double Omnislash with the help of the Refresher Shard from Roshan to kill the entire enemy team. On top of that, Alchemist had kindly given him an Aghahim's Scepter which even further boosted his Omnislash, making it a whooping seventeen slashes. Despite his slight dislike of Alchemist, he couldn't deny the usefulness of the alchemy that Alchmeist wielded as a weapon like it was second nature to him. **"Victory is a forgone conclusion, but honour demands that we fight."** The Juggernaut silently muttered, the echo of his ancestors giving him the energy and power that he desperately needed to finish the game.

And what a powerful figure he was! Fourty minutes in, equipped with the Battle Fury, Sange and Yasha, Butterfly and Eye of Skadi. He was already Level 25, having taken the additional 5 Omnislash Strikes talent to further enhance his fighting capabilities. Honestly, this War of the Ancients was starting to wear him out, hard. Even the power of his honoured Ancestors could only keep his torch lit for so long as he struggled against the most common enemy that many faced on the battlefield, fatigue. Mental fatigue, to be precise.

How long had it been? How long had it been seen he last saw the sea? How long had it been since he last properly offered incense to his Ancestors? How long had it been, since he was forced to pick up his blade to fight for a war that was not his own to fight? For how long had he fought, with no conclusion in sight ever since his entrance into the war? And how long had it been since he last carved another mask as a vessel for the souls of his Ancestors should his current one fail?

With unrestrained fury, Juggernaut began to dash forward, using the Flutter ability of the Butterfly to quicken his pace and reach the exposed Ancient, beginning the gruelling process of hacking into the Dire Ancient for what had to be the umpteenth time.

LINE BREAK

He glanced around the futuristic looking airship, as he woke up from his short nap. Damm, the memories of the War had still not gone away, despite him trying to make a new home here in Remnant. He grimaced, wishing that the memories of ages past that still haunted him would go away. A quick look at his sheathed swords let him know that his two swords were still there sitting right next to him, along with his bag of clothes and other necessities.

"Attention, we have arrived at Beacon Academy." He took up one of the two swords that he used, unsheathing asingle inch of it as he admired the Blackened Edge of the Bladekeeper. The sharper edge was a black substance of sorts that seemed to suck all light in, as it constantly shifted around the sharper edge of the blade. The less sharp edge had also been tempered with a red metal of sorts that the blacksmith whom made this had neglected to tell what the metal was. However, it still cut through almost everything like hot butter, so he supposed that it was all good. Sheathing it, he glanced at the other sword that was sheathed as well. He had never really found a proper use for the Serrakura, it being perhaps the sharpest blade in his arsenal. It was the sword itself that was a work of art, not the person who wielded it making it a piece of art in this case unless the person had the skill to wield it as such. A pink hue, resembling the shade of cherry blossoms coated the sharp serrated edge of the blade, and always left a pinkish afterimage of cherry blossoms everytime he performed an attack with it. He remembered the exact words that the blacksmith had said when the Serrakura had finally finished being tempered. "Here, at last, is a killing kind of beauty." He couldn't find an argument against that, to be honest. Sighing, he began to slowly walk towards the Academy.

"Beacon, huh? It seems... somewhat excessively large." Despite having spent eons fighting for pointless victories over and over again, Yunero could not help but take up his blades once more, not when there was such foul creatures of darkness that existed. Yet, few of those creatures could compare to the likes of Balanar and Viper who'd joined the war with motives of their own.

Balanar was the sole survivor of his people, just like him. Despite his bright personality, Ezalor had committed mass genocide and killed off all of Balanar's people but Balanar himself as said Nightstalker was able to resist the light. Now, he sought revenge against the one that had killed his kin. Viper on the other hand, was merely seeking a way home after a poor fool had accidentally summoned him from the Nether Reaches. Those two were the ones that he could admittedly relate to the most, since they had suffered similar pasts. Torn away from their kin and place, with no place nor purpose. Well, except for Viper who wished to return to the Nether Reaches.

An explosion somewhere interrupted his thoughts, making him look up as he gathered his two weapons to place them at the left side of his waist. By the looks of it, it was caused by dust. And not just any dust. High grade fire dust that many would be hard pressed to get. Perhaps someone had failed to properly store their dust, resulting in such an explosion. Picking up his small bag, he walked towards the scene, where a white haired girl and another one in a red cape seemed to be arguing with each other. Huh, it was probably better to not get involved.

As he turned away, his eye caught another girl, slowly walking towards them with her footsteps surprisingly being masked. If there was a distinct trait, it would be the bow that seat neatly on her head. For some reason, he couldn't help but feel as if the bow had moved ever so slightly for a second there. There was definitely something that she was hiding, but everybody had secrets that they didn't want to reveal, even himself. What he had experienced would be enough to scar even the most sane of people, and he didn't want to have others share his burdens other than those who actively participated in the war.

"Hey, I said I was sorry, princess!" It seemed like the younger girl had somewhat of a short fuse and got fed up with the white haired girl.

"It's heiress, actually." Well, that would explain her mannerisms. Yunero thought as the black haired girl chose to step in, holding the vial of fire dust that had not been properly capped. Especially since she carried herself in a refined and elegant way that only people of high stature tend to do. He grimaced slightly, as he remembered the other Juggernauts who were higher up in the food chain acting like that before his exile. Thankfully, the Elders had not tolerated such actions and had them punished severely. "Weiss Schnee, Heiress of the Schnee Dust Company."

The now identified Weiss managed to pull off a dignified look somehow. "Finally, some recognition!" Unfortunately, bow girl had more to say.

"The same company infamous for its controversial labour forces and questionable business partners." At that statement, Weiss couldn't help but splutter as she was dealt a critical blow and caught off guard. Obviously, she hadn't learnt how to deal with such blunt criticism to her family and birthright. Well, it was always fun to see someone of higher status being outwitted in a battle of words and knocked down a peg, especially if they deserved it.

As amusing as it was to continue watching, he didn't wish to be late and started walking towards wherever the gathering point was. Four years at Beacon would certainly prove to be interesting.

He took that statement back almost instantly as he walked into the auditorium, he was already being watched from behind as he walked into the auditorium. If there was one thing he didn't like, it was being watched.

LINE BREAK

Pyrrha Nikos looked around the auditorium. It was full of three general groups of people. The first were the boys that seemed to be there just for the sake of ogling at girls whose combat outfits revealed a bit of skin. She scoffed at that attitude, just a bit of skin was already enough to drive the hot blooded insane. A few boys had gathered the courage to try and corner her. Keyword being tried. She wasn't nicknamed the Invincible Girl for nothing after all. The second group were those that appeared to be nervous more than anything. Well, at least she could understand those. Beacon had some ridiculous standards after all. The last were the truly capable ones but fewer in numbers. Those who seemed to be relaxed and confident more than anything and what they portrayed was definitely obviously not for show. But so far, no individual figure had caught her eye so far. Then He stepped into the auditorium.

Since she was closer to the back, she was able to observe him carefully from behind. Beside him was a seemingly nervous girl who wielded a large scythe that was larger than herself, and the boy himself was nervous by the looks of it. Perhaps that could be changed. Then another guy entered the auditorium, and she knew that he meant business

Pyrrha mentally groaned in disappointment as she found the one person that could have potentially been a good person to pair up with for the rest of the four years. Oh well, at least there was the other guy who seemed to be able to handle himself by the looks of the two swords on his waist. The one thing that she had to admit was the fact that both had someone managed to blend into a crowd of people despite their height. She could only hope that she would be able to find either of them during initiation. Still, she could't help but feel that someone was watching her. Must be one of those boys.

LINE BREAK

Within seconds, he had managed to escape the vision of the girl that had been watching him. He didn't want her watching him anymore, despite him not wearing anything that would make him stand out, not even the mask that housed his honoured ancestors. Making his way through the crowd of hopeful initiates, he managed to find a spot near the back, a few spots away from where the red haired girl stood. Immediately, he recognized her as Pyrrha Nikos, the four time Champion of the Mistral Regional Championships. He had heard of her, but he didn't think that she was the one that was watching him. It had probably been far too long since he mingled with such a large crowd of people, and his social skills weren't exactly the best thing.

His eye twitched again, as he felt someone else watching him again. What was it with people watching him? He was starting to get mildly annoyed, but decided that against trying to blend in again. After all, it was pointless with the auditorium filling up and leaving him with little to no space to move freely. Turning his head back, his bright yellow eyes immediately met with another pair of eerily similar eyes, but it held curiousity more than anything. It took him another second to realise that it was the same girl as before; the one who had embarrassed the Schnee.

A cough interrupted his current thoughts, making him look up at the stage. A bespectacled man stood up there, keeping a poker face as he analyzed the people there. "I'll keep this brief." He began. " You have traveled here today in search of knowledge, to hone your craft and acquire new skills, and when you have finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people. But I look amongst you, and all I see is wasted energy, in need of purpose, direction." Yunero clenched his fist at that, it struck far too close to home. What purpose did he have, when his kin had vanished beneath the seas and he was all that was left of the Isle of Masks? What direction could he choose to go, other than forward and face a future that revolved around fighting? At least he would be putting the techniques of his kind to good use.

Calming himself quickly, he managed to hear the next words of the Headmaster. "You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far. It is up to you to take the first step." First step huh? He had already taken the first step, to defy that single Lord that resulted in his exile from the Isle of Masks. If only the Headmaster knew of his past... unfortunately, some details were simply not meant to be shared.

As he began to slowly weave his way through the stunned crowd to the locker room, he felt someone bump into him, another male, who was almost as tall as him, just short of a few centimeters. "Ah, I'm sorry."

"It's alright." As he was about to walk off, the blond extended a hand.

"My name's Jaune Arc, nice to meet you." He smiled thinly, perhaps it would be good to find a friend amongst the warriors. He had not made a single friend despite being in this world for a few years now, and his only friends were all but gone now.

"Yunero Jugg, nice to meet you." He had chosen to take up that last name, as it was a reminder of the title that he had rightfully earned through trial of combat. That title itself was the reason why his name had become well-known in his world, before the War.

"Yunero, huh? Are you from Mistral?"

"Yes."

"Where are you going?"

"To take a shower and change. Did you not hear what the Professor said?"

"Oh, right." Yunero, at that moment, wondered how Jaune was going to survive initiation. He seemed to be mostly clueless about his surroundings and that was a bad thing, especially when he was going to enter a forest full of Grim. "Do you know where is the locker room?" At that single moment, Yunero really wanted to introduce his palm to his face. Not even the Crystal Maiden came close to being this dense.

 _Locker Room_

After taking a quick shower to cleanse himself, he put on a simple outfit for bed, a pair of shorts and a white shirt that was strained partially due to his build. Sitting down on one of the benches, Yunero chose to wait for Jaune, seeing how the poor boy couldn't read signs to find his way. "Hey, Yunero." Hearing Jaune's awkward voice, he turned to the direction of him, only to be greeted with a sight that gave him an almost irresistible urge to introduce his palm to his face for the second time of the day.

"Jaune Arc. What are you wearing?"

"Er... a onsie?" Getting up to his locker, Yunero quickly dug out a spare shirt that he had and another pair of shorts.

"Change into this." The stern look by Yunero made sure that there was no argument, and he watched with satisfaction as Jaune quickly changed out of that horrible nightmare,

 _Auditorium_

"Why are the girls looking at us like that?"

Yunero couldn't help but quirk an eyebrow. "You seriously don't know? Do you not have a single bit of contact with females?"

"Well, I do have seven sisters but I don't have any female contact other than with them and my mother." Yunero nodded his head in an almost sage like manner, seems like his sisters tried to keep him sheltered.

"Seems like you need a bit of education. Perhaps we'll talk more about this tomorrow. Sleep is more important right now." Finding a spot, Yunero sat down and shifted into a meditative posture, while Jaune looked partially confused as the blond knight sat down next to him. "I'll be meditating. Do not try to disturb me." Nodding his head, Jaune began to prepare himself for bed, stealing glances at Yunero who seemed to have stopped moving completely. Honestly, this was a weird way to start a friendship. Lying down, he looked up at the auditorium ceiling, not noticing how his eyelids started to become heavier and heavier. Perhaps he should close them. Yeah, that seemed like a good idea...

 **A/N: This was a side project that I found in my old phone, it's from two to three years back, in case you guys are curious. I believe this was written because of my fondness of the game, and how I found RWBY to be an intriguing anime that could be easily shifted to fit in crossovers much more easily than many other animes. Anyway, I don't have too much to say about this fanfic, apart from the fact that I'm admittedly tempted to continue this fanfic and my Highschool DXD crossover one at the same time. With the new addition of Grimstroke and more lore into Dota 2 recently through The Dueling Fates (Valve Lords, if you are reading this, pls give more lore), I find it fit to finally upload this.**

 **Also don't worry, I should be able to finish up the next chapter of my Highschool DxD story within a week or so.**

 **Hoped you guys enjoyed this chapter and leave a review if you guys think that I should continue this! Feel free to PM me if you want. I am only a amateur at this shit btw.**

 **On that note, peace out mofos!**

 **322n(Ya friendly asian)**


	2. Conversations

**authorofthefall: It's honestly a bit tricky to describe what he wears, since Yunero is someone that typically sticks by traditional outfits and such that help with his swordsmanship. Also, because of his traditional roots, he would rather have two seperate blades than have a mecha shifting weapon. As for the yellow skin, I am going to make it such that he has what people typically call yellow skin tone for Asians. For your info, the immortal healing ward is called Fortune's Tout.**

 **Leragas: He does have a face under his mask, according to a line by Sven and I quote, "Had I had such a face like yours, I too would wear such a mask." This means that at least one person has seen his face before and thus he probably wears it to hide his face which is probably scarred or something. He's also 17, same age as the other initiates and as to why he removed his mask and attending Beacon, the answer won't be revealed that fast.**

Rubbing his eyes, Jaune began to wake up as his internal body clock forced him to do so. Living in a large household meant that he had to always wake up early to use the bathroom first to avoid having to wait, especially when said household consisted of his mother and seven sisters.

Groaning slightly, he managed to finally open his eyes. Right, he was currently in the Auditorium of Beacon Academy and today was initiation. He could only pray that he would make it through initiation alive, for Beacon had tough standards that he probably didn't meet.

Turning to his right, he couldn't help but stare in amazement for a second as he looked at Yunero, who was still somehow in the meditating position from the night before. How was it possible to meditate that long, he didn't even know. Still, he should probably get Yunero to get up and use the showers before other students crowded the showers. "Hey-"

"Good morning, Jaune." Yunero opened his eyes almost immediately, surprising his fellow initiate.

"G-Good morning, Yunero. We should probably use the showers first before the students begin to swarm the place." He sttuttered a bit before recovering himself, realising that Yunero had already gotten up.

"Yeah, we should." As Jaune began to pack his things, he quickly looked around the auditorium. By the looks of it, everyone else was still asleep which meant that they could take their time.

"How do you meditate like that?"

"I cultivated the habit. It keeps me calm." What would Yunero need to be calm for? The initiation? But he looked like one of those people who had faith and confidence in their skills. "I'll see you later, Jaune." Nodding his head, Jaune sighed in defeat and began the painstaking process of trying to find his locker amongst a sea of lockers. He would later come to the realization that it had been shifted by someone, and by that time, he would be amongst the crowd that was trying to take a shower, hence defeating his purpose of being awake so early.

 _Canteen_

Unfortunately, it appeared that there was only canteen food available, and he resigned to his fate, grabbing a bowl of what appeared to be noodles that had been left too long in the sauce, making it extremely soggy. The sauce looked to be diluted with water, letting him know that this was going to taste pretty plain. So much for being a top academy when the food wasn't even up to par. Unless it was purposely made like this to make sure students would be awake, at the cost of their mood.

In the end, food was food after all and he wasn't going to waste a drop of it. As he began the process of breakfast, his eye twitched as another person slid into the seat next to him. It wasn't Jaune, that was for sure as he was probably still stuck in the bathroom. Plus, Jaune's presence didn't feel this fiery. "Hey!"

"Hello."

"That's all you're gonna say?" Finally turning to his right, he quickly took in the appearance of the second blonde that he had seen up close at Beacon. She was someone that would probably drive hot blooded males crazy, with her body and choice of clothing. Her torso was covered by a tan jacket that barely reached her midriffs and a yellow crop top with some sort emblem on it. Her shorts were shorter than normal shorts, barely reaching even the middle of her thigh, fastened by a brown belt. She almost reminded him of a mix between Akasha and Lyralei, with the former's flirty attitude and the latter's cheerfulness, although both were not on par.

Yang's POV 

"Yes." With that quick glance, the guy turned back to his noodles and began to wolf them down. Was he that hungry to eat those noodles?

"So... what's your name?"

"Yunero. Yours?"

"Yang." Figuring that she should try to make some small talk, she asked him the first question that came to mind. "So, why did you apply at Beacon?"

"I needed a new start. Are you sure you don't pronounce your name as Yang?" ( **A/N: There is a Chinese pronunciation of Yang, so feel free to google the Chinese way of saying Yang if you want.)** He stated simply. A new start had been one of the things that he had aimed for ever since his arrival, and he seemed to be doing fine. He was not fighting in an endless war anymore, so that was a good start.

"Sounds like you went through some crazy stuff when you were young. And no, why?" Yunero simply nodded his head, choosing to not speak but rather focus on his food. Yang couldn't help but notice the lone scar that crossed his left eye. " "I assume that the scar on above your eye is part of your past?"

"It's a reminder of my past. I did not, and I do not still have any aura, you know?"

"And you still applied for Beacon?" That new piece of information shocked her, but she kept her smile as she processed what it meant. That scar looked like it was by a Grimm, or was it? If he had no aura, it would explain the scar, and it was suicidal applying for a Hunter school without having any Aura. Everyone in Signal had unlocked their Aura already by their second year. What kind of idiot would not unlock it? After all, Aura was what protected them. Somewhere in the showers, a certain blonde sneezed.

"You'll find that I don't need Aura. The way of the Sword is all I need." That would mean that his weapon or weapons were swords, and he seemed to be a firm believer of it, judging by his confidence in his skills.

"Still, it's kinda risky. Are yo sure you don't wanna ask someone to unlock your Aura?" She pointed out, but Yunero merely shook his head and offered a light smile.

"I'm not going to be in any danger. A forest of Grimm is nothing new to me." Yang couldn't help but raise her eyebrows at that. This guy seemed to be fully of surprises, despite his initial appearance. A guy who emitted nothing but confidence in his speech despite having no Aura, he was either too arrogant or he was simply confident about his skill.

"Is that overconfidence that I hear?" Yang responded with a smirk, hoping to provoke a comment.

"No, it's simply faith in my skills." He deadpanned. As Yunero got up, she decided that the best course of action was to follow him.

"Aw, you're no fun. So, where are you going?"

"To meditate."

"Why?"

"It is a habit that I cultivated from young. When you are alone on your own in the wilderness, being calm is important, especially when Grimm are attracted to negative emotions." Another little tibit of his past, she noted as she saved that bit of information in her head.

"Fair enough. So..." She cut herself off when she realised that Yunero had already stopped moving and was beginning to settle on a tree stump to begin his meditation.

Huffing, she turned away in an exaggerated manner, but couldn't help but turn a few seconds later. Damm, this guy was persistently hard to crack, if anything. She couldn't help but watch as Yunero's breathing became even and any unnecessary movements stopped too, leaving her alone as she kicked a stone. Yang couldn't help but feel that Yunero wouldn't be moving anytime soon, and decided to fully take in his figure. He was taller than her, that she knew. He wore a plain red shirt that seemed to be partially tattered at the bottom, revealing his muscular build. Then again, his shirt did little to hide his frame. The pants were a simple grey, with a red belt holding it together and had extensions that were dedicated to holding his sheathed swords. His face was handsome, despite his eyes being close. Perhaps the scar made him more attractive? She didn't know what to think. She had flirted with her fair share of handsome boys, but there were none who were like Yunero.

Sighing in defeat, she began to walk off, trying to clear her head for initiation. Still, there was no way that she wouldn't be able to get such an interesting figure off her mind. As she walked off, she failed to notice the person that had overheard their conversation and did not hear the conversation that ensued soon after. It would have probably made her jaw drop had she heard it.

Yunero's POV

"You do know that it's not nice to eavesdrop on a conversation, right?" Yunero opened an eye, looking in the direction of the eavesdropper. "I thought that you would never stoop so low as to overhear a conversation."

"Time can change people. Even for someone like me." The eavesdropper now stepped out of the shadows, his arms crossed over his torso as he inspected the gauntlets on his arm.

"And I thought time meant nothing to beings like you." Yunero had not shifted once, only his mouth moving as his eye closed once more with his rebuttal.

"The War changed me."

"It changed everyone, not just you."

"I have never spent a large portion of my life on a single thing, but the War changed that. I've lived so long, yet I've never fought for a single purpose that long. I've come to several realizations, and none of them were pleasant to accept at first. That I will admit." There was a hint of hesitation, but it was squashed by the oncoming words.

"I never thought you would be admitting something so openly." Yunero had opened his eyes, shifting out of the meditative pose into a more casual sitting position. "Then again, time changes us all. But why are you here? As a student no less?"

"I've forgotten what it is like to be nothing more than a young child, and I wish to re-experience my youth. Perhaps I may discover new insights. My magic did manifest in my teens after all." As he began to sit down beside Yunero, he glanced up at the rising sun.

"So what happened to being a Beacon of Knowledge blazing across a black sea of ignorance?" Sitting beside Yunero, he scowled at that statement. **(A/N: If you guys can't figure out who is this, I have no words to say. This should be obvious enough as it is.)**

"I decided that it may not be true after all. And I hope that pun was not intentional." Yunero, in a rare moment, smirked at that before going back to his neutral expression.

"So what happens now? You're the most powerful person in the Academy, no doubt about it."

"No, I doubt so. There's another one like me, he has Mana as well. If you concentrate your senses just before initiation starts, I'm sure that you'll be able to find it." That immediately caught Yunero's attention. Someone else besides the two of them had access to Mana? Mana in this world was something that he had found lacking, with Aura taking over as the main type of energy of the Soul. To have Mana meant to have the ability to use Magic.

"Not just him. I've met several people who had Mana too, although they were not limited to a few type of magics. They can use the elements as well as several others, like Telekinesis and Aerokinesis." Yunero bit his lip, that would mean that they were adept magic users.

"How do they fare up against you?" Yunero was curious, as he knew that his friend(?) would have probably fought against one of the magic users if he was able to give such an accurate description.

"Not even close. They have too little experience in using magic, and obviously didn't use it much. They couldn't mold it well enough, and the way they molded their mana was not potent enough." So basically, their magic wasn't as refined as his. "Strangely enough, it seems that there only four at any point of time who display such aptitude."

Damm, how long had he lived to be able to figure out such details? "So how long have you been here for?"

"I cannot say. I lost count after the second millennia. But I was here long enough to see that the Fairy tale of the Four Maidens actually is not just mere lies, but truth, albeit with a grain of salt."

"So yo're saying that those four are the Four Maidens?"

"Not exactly. It's their power that is passed down, but the power seems to pick at random." Nodding his head, Yunero shifted back into his meditative posture.

"We should finish this conversation later."

"I'll see you later then." Nodding his head, Yunero began to continue his meditation while the other Hero walked in the direction of the canteen.

 _Cliff facing Emerald Forest_

It is time, he thought to himself as he tightly gripped the handle of one of his swords, the Serrakura. He doubted that he would have to draw it today, since the Blackened Edge already cut through most Grimm armour like it was butter. Judging by the look of the forest, it seemed that he wouldn't have to do too much in this kind of terrain to get to whatever the objective of this initiation. After all, the jungle had been part of his live hood before and during the War, as he had continuously hunted and foraged for food and water within it. Time had never dulled his skills at navigation either.

"Now," He faced the speaking professor, as he moved to stand on what appeared to be a launching pad aimed towards the Emerald Forest. "I'm sure that many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of teams. Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be assigned teammates. Today."

Ozpin simply continued on from the female professor. "These teammates will be with you for the rest of the time you are here at Beacon. As such, it is in your best interest to partner with someone that you can get along with." He nodded his head in affirmation. Team chemistry was key after all, but not many people seemed to care much about that. "That being said, the first person you make eye contact with upon landing will be your partner for the next four years. "

Yunero raised an eyebrow at that. Using eye contact to determine partners? That was new. Then again, the eyes were the windows to the soul after all. Deciding to not question the debatable way of assigning team mates, Yunero braced himself. He was one of the first to go, and he couldn't afford any distractions if he wanted to make sure he landed perfectly without any wounds. "What?" He merely sighed, it seemed that there was someone who was probably not accustomed to such things. Whoever that was, she was probably going to have to accept it, judging by the deadpan delivery by Ozpin.

"As soon as you have partnered up, make your wau to the Northern end of the forest." So the objective was all the way at the other end of the forest. Good to know. "You will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your way, or _you will die_." The emphasis was there, and he heard a whimper from someone near him. He raised an eyebrow when he pinpointed the person who whimpered to be Jaune. The blonde was weak, that was for sure. Yet, he had untapped potential but he would need to be seriously lucky to survive initiation.

"You will be monitored and graded for the rest of your initiation. However, our instructors will not help you." He expected that much. This was a test meant to prove themselves after all. "At the end of the path, you will find an abandoned temple containing several relics. Each will secure one relic, and return here to the cliff. We will regard each relic and your performance, and grade each pair accordingly." Fair enough. This should be an easy test to pass, provided that he could find a partner. "Any questions?"

"So how will we be landing?" For the third time in two days, Yunero really wanted to introduce his palm to his face. But he had no time to worry about it, as he felt the launch pad under him start to move, and he was one of the first people to be catapulted into the Emerald Forest.

As he analyzed what he could do to perform a safe landing, he noticed several trees with strong sturdy branches sticking out. Could he make it? Stretching his hand out, his hand collided with a branch and he quickly grasped it as fast as he could, the branch creaking under his weight but not giving way. Another tree was in front of him, with sturdy branches below. Swinging his body back and forth a bit, he let go of the current branch and let the momentum guide him forth. With his knees bent, he braced himself as he landed on the lower branch. Good.

Noticing how low he was, Yunero leapt down from his branch and onto the forest floor, leaving him unharmed and unfortunately, into a clearing that had several bewolves. Well, unfortunate for the Beowolves at least. "Good, I could use the warm up too."

Drawing the Blackened Edge, Yunero began to dash towards the pack, that was already beginning to charge at him, intent on killing him. Yet, the first Beowolf met its end as Yunero straight up plunged the sword into it's opened mouth. As the Grimm began to slowly dissipate on his sword, he pulled the sword out and aimed it at one of the Bewolves, which had all surrounded him and were snarling at him like he was a tasty snack. Another dash forward, and Yunero leapt to the right to avoid getting cut, while performing a slash by swapping his sword from his right arm to his left before stabbing into where it's heart would be to finish it off.

"Not bad, Yunero." Yunero smirked, after all it was rare hearing complements from him.

"Come on then, Carl. Show me what you've got." It was a challenge, one that Carl gladly took, seeing the three Beowolves in front of him.

 **A/N: Sue me, I ain't that good at writing. I just finished watching the latest loregasm video by Siractionslacks and holy shit it was informative af. While it raises more questions than answers them, at least now I got more lore to work with now for the rest of this work. I don't got too much to say, but yeah. This chapter is kinda short because I don't really have too much on what to write for now.**

 **Hoped you guys enjoyed this chapter and leave a review if you guys think that there's room for improvement or any requests that you want! Some requests will be considered. Feel free to PM me if you want. Absurd requests are obviously not allowed and dun flame. I am only a amateur at this shit.**

 **On that note, peace out mofos!**

 **322n(Ya friendly asian)**


	3. Relics of the Past

**Leragas: I have quite the idea in mind, and yes, Carl is humble now. There's a reason for me writing like this, and I won't introduce any other hero into this fanfic. Not yet, at the very least. It would be too cliche to put a enemy of magic with a magician in a team anyways. Otherwise, I would have rather used Magina instead of Yunero. Plus, Carl has never had proper interactions in the Dota universe so I want to try and expand on that. So yes, of all the 114 available heroes, I chose Carl for that specific reason. There are also other reasons why, but that is the main reason on why I want to add in Carl. Plus introducing another hero this soon will make this fanfic seem somewhat off, at least in my opinion.**

 **Swaglord: I can't fully guarantee interesting stuff, but I'm glad you find it so.**

 **Pink Pidgeon: Yeah, Loregasm is pretty good in that aspect. I've binged watched it several times when I was bored. Carl's personality is really hard to grasp, even for me. I am simply trying to show how Carl is affected by the war, as well as Yunero. The thing is, Carl is the kind who will make sure he leaves an impact but he won't try to dominate the world, because it is useless for him to do so. And yes, he's left his impact in someway that I won't say now.**

Jaune's POV

How was he so unlucky and lucky at the same time? Jaune couldn't help but wonder the events that had happened today so far. Firstly, his locker had been relocated to somewhere else in the locker room and it had taken him forever to find it. When he finally found it however, the showers were beginning to fill up, and it had defeated the purpose of him waking up so early to prepare. After waiting for at least another twenty minutes, he had finally managed to take a shower and freshened up but Yunero appeared to be nowhere in sight as he headed back to his locker. It seemed like he would be keeping the extra outfit until he could find Yunero again.

Then while still in the lockers room, he had been yelled at by a girl who had to be one of the prettiest that he had seen so far. Her snow white hair along with her albino like complexion was what had to be the most appealing features about her. The thing was, he was yelled at by Weiss for not knowing who she and Pyrrha Nikos were. Was it really a big deal that he should know them? Apparently most of the people present did, as many have seemed send some look of acknowledgement or recognition to her and they walked past them.

His breakfast had appeared to be nothing but plain noodles, and he had to eat what had to be a pretty bad breakfast alone. Times like this made him appreciate his mother's cooking. Sighing, he had managed to somehow finish up breakfast, and before he knew it, it was time for initiation. How had time gone past so fast, he didn't know. But before he knew it, he was standing on a spot that was apparently a cliff that gave a bird eye's view of the the place of the initiation, Emerald Forest. A landing strategy. Those words had plagued him to no end, as he now flew through the air. When the headmaster had told him that he would have to use his own landing strategy, he had been launched throughout the air before he knew it. He didn't even have the chance to ask someone for an idea on how to land, not even Yunero who had been one of the first few people to fly off the cliff, although he seemed pretty confident about it.

As he flew off the cliff into what was probably his death, he began to look back on his pretty boring life. Why had he wanted to become a huntsman in the first place? He came from a lineage of famous hunters, and he definitely wanted to continue that tradition. Looking back at it now, wasn't it somewhat of a foolish notion to think as such? He wouldn't be plunging to his death by now had he not faked his transcripts. He most certainly wouldn't have met Yunero though, if had he not come here. Speaking of Yunero, where was he?

Fortunately or unfortunately, he was so preoccupied with his thoughts that he didn't see the spear sailing through the air towards him until it nicked him by his hoodie and impaled him to the nearest tree. "Oof!" He felt the impact of being nailed to the tree and couldn't help but let out a grunt of slight pain.

"Sorry!" He turned to the direction of the yell, and found the Pyrrha Nikos looking in her direction as she fell too, although she probably had a landing strategy unlike him. Despite all that, he couldn't help but be relieved as the Spartan disappeared from sight and into the thick foliage of the trees. He had been saved after all and she was probably his partner since they made eye contact. As he tried to pull the spear of his hoodie to free himself, he realized two things. One, he was trying to pull the spear from a pretty bad angle as he could exerted lesser strength than normal when he pulled from his position. And he was also probably stuck until she got here and removed her spear. Great, he thought sardonically.

Ruby's POV

Ruby Rose wasn't a social person. She came to the initiation, secretly hoping that she would be able to pair up with Yang so that she wouldn't have to be so awkward as she would have her sis by her side when it came to social interactions. That plan however, was shot to hell with two factors. One, the headmaster had said that the moment she made eye contact with anyone, the person would be her partner. Two, after she and Yang had been launched, Yang had made use of the recoil from her shotguns in her gauntlets to propel her further and while Crescent Rose could do the same, her sniper rifle wasn't going to be as effective as Yang's shotguns.

She had resigned to her fate, which led her to using her baby to perform her own landing. However, she slammed into a small Nevermore on her descent. "Birdie, no!" She couldn't help but yell on reflex, before she began using Crescent Rose to start slowing her descent by using the recoil of her sniper rifle to slow her down. Ruby couldn't help but blush a scarlet red, for someone had probably seen that and had a good laugh. That blush faded away almost immediately as she began to focus on her next task in mind as she landed safely; to find Yang and pair up with her. With her speed semblance, she should be able to catch up to her sister in no time, right?

Carl's POV

 _Time. It should have been a meaningless concept to him, with him having cast the Sempiternal Catnap, granting longevity beyond imagination. It didn't mean that he couldn't die though, but he had certainly made use of the time that was on his hands to practice and continuously refine his magic, all while discovering new types of magic along the way. It had taken him a few millennia, but he had finally ascended to the top of the world, or so he thought. Then he was thrust into the War, tempted by the Dire Ancient, with it having claimed to have invocations that were beyond his imagination. He had accepted readily, of course. But what he didn't expect was that his power and greatness was reduced by the Ancients, both of them having some sort of rule that none were too strong or overpowered, in their terms. At first, the Invoker had seethed at the mere thought of it._

 _Yet, after the first few battles, he found himself beginning to enjoy it. It was fun. It was fun to be able to be limited and challenged, both physically and mentally all while finding new avenues that challenged his mind for once. He had laid his hands on what would definitely be deemed priceless items, such as the legendary Aghanim's Scepter, which was said to hold immense power that belonged to the demigod like wizard Aghanim. He also wielded otherworldly items, such as the Scythe of Vyse, which was the most guarded artifact amongst the Cult of Vyse. Hence, he had never attempted to try and get it back in his world due to the amount of trouble it would bring. The Octarine Core, which was what many considered to be the core of Spellcraft manifested in a physical form. The core of Spellcraft held spectrums that only the crème de la crème could even detect._

 _However, as time went on, Carl found himself growing bored of the War. Sure, he had seen spells like unique to others and he realised that most of them were useless in the end due to the spells that he had in his arsenal mostly triumphing what the other Heroes had or simply had no place in his fighting style as a magi. Those that were more useful, he came to a realization. He would never be able to master them, no matter how hard he tried. For example, Storm Spirit's Ball Lightning trumped any mobility spell he had, even his Ghost Walk. After all, being able to ball through any sort of terrain and while it still being an offensive spell made it much better than Myrault's Hinder-Gast. Yet, his body most definitely would not be able to handle becoming nothing but raw lightning, even for a second. Not without him becoming fried. Rajin had fused with a celestial, and that was the only reason why the Storm Spirit could perform such a feat. Even if one had an extremely high affinity to the element of lightning, the user could not stay in that form for too long and he wouldn't be able to move as fast as Rajin. So that was out of the box. Another was the Pulse Nova of Leshrac, whose body constantly pulsed with power when activated, striking foes that dared to stand near the Tormented Soul. He could never hope to have such an pulse of power constantly surging through him, unless he wanted his body vaporized into nothingness._

 _Not to mention the terrors he saw and the horrible experiences that he had. For the first time and for many times to come, he would feel a blade cutting into his flesh like it was nothing. Death was something that always disorientated him, for he never experienced death with his longevity. Through the mouth of Visage, he learnt that the Narrow Maze and the Underscape awaited him the day when he truly died. He had felt the crippling fear from the Night Stalker when it was night time, and when the creature of darkness would use the spell on him. He had been poisoned and earned a slow and agonizing death slowly, by the sadistic Viper who wished to reign as the most toxic creature of the Nether Realm. He had his life sucked out in front of him by the Grandmaster of Oblivion, his life literally flashing before his eyes. He had his mana pool emptied by Magina, before he was brought down to his knees and his mana pool turned upon himself. Not to mention many more experiences, even some humiliating ones._

 _Arc Warden had warned him of meddling with powers beyond his imagination. At first, with his ego, he had brushed that off. But after witnessing what the Fundamentals and other beings of greater power of him(as much as he hated to admit it at first), he couldn't helped but be in awe of what they could do. Nessaj, who rode on the steed Armageddon itself, could pull alternate versions of himself from other universes to himself. Darchrow, of the Void, could create Black holes. Io, could literally cross planes and tether to someone, giving them strength from between the planes. Ezalor, Light personified, could easily create light out of nothing with his staff and illuminate the immediate area around him by just being around. Weaver could literally rewrite time if he wished. Feats like this were truly beyond him._

 _As time rewound itself after each conclusion, Carl found himself stuck in an endless time loop, doomed to forever repeat the same type of battle, only with varying variables such as different heroes and the occasional odd way that the enemies or allies built their items. Who knew that going Dagon on Morphling could be so effective and devastating, all while being able to send the opposing team into an angered state? He knew that shitty feeling all too well._

 _Yet, somehow, he had managed to get out of the War, as if a higher power had heard his thoughts. But it was impossible, there was no higher power than the Fundamentals and the Weavers, right? Skitskurr, who had the talent and skills of a Master Weaver, had somehow got entrapped in the never-ending cycle too, so it was impossible for them to escape. A Weaver was one that weaved the very fabric of Creation itself, and a Master Weaver was placed in charge of a small patch of creation. A small patch however, could have a large impact. Should even a small patch come undone, whole worlds would come undone. So how did Skitskurr even come to be trapped in the War? He had a theory about Skitskurr and why he ended up trapped in the War, but he couldn't be sure about it yet._

 _What mattered most however, was the bittersweet taste of freedom. He was free. Free from the war. There had been only one problem when he first arrived to Remnant. It wasn't his world. His world was brimming with creatures and humans who could wield mana. Remnant did not. His world had an extremely large population, with several different races and species. Remnant only had Fanus, Humans and Grimm as the main species. And the evil, soulless creatures were the ones that dominated the world. The soulless creatures reminded him of Balanar in a way, yet even the Night Stalker had one thing that differentiated itself from the Grimm. A Soul._

 _With nothing else to work with but his magic and mind, Carl did the only thing he could; explore the entirety of Remnant. His first experience with Grimm was almost too easy, he had not lived through the War without the experiences, and from those experiences did he draw upon to fight the Grimm. From the typical werewolf like Grimm to those that resembled a Sea Dragon, he had fought almost all the types of Grimm. Yet, none of them could compare to the true challenges that he had faced in the War._

 _There was one problem now. One that plagued him to no end. His full power was here with him, yet he couldn't bring it out to its fullest potential. Not anymore. Not after the War. His mind was too tuned and used to only use the ten weakened invocations that he had taken into the War. After all, sow an action, reap a habit. Sow a habit, reap a character. Sow a character, reap a destiny. Thus, he began his next and most important project of all; remastering his entire arsenal and bringing out the fullest potential of his spells once more. His mind was his arcanery, it wouldn't take too long to regain full use of_ _powers, right?_

"Still thinking about the past?" Carl couldn't help but threw a wry smile at the Juggernaut, shaking his head as he did so. The two of them had managed to set a comfortable pace, heading towards the ruins. Their encounter with Grimm was rather limited, allowing them to move fast. With their skills, any Grimm that they had met would be dispatched rather fast, giving them the opportunity to keep up the "normal" pace that they had set for themselves.

"Not exactly. It's something else that I've been working on." Despite investing a few millennia's worth of time to retrieve his entire arsenal, the results were less than satisfying. Up to now, his full arsenal had not been fully recovered, but he had at least managed to regain the stronger spells of old, one being a handy spell that gave him a youthful appearance as long as he lived.

"That's rare. I suppose it's good to see your caustic personality finally gone." Yunero commented, before murmuring something that even Carl couldn't pick up.

"It's not gone. It's simply... sealed away, right now, along with most of my abilities." Carl admitted, a hint of hesitation in his words as he tried to get them out.

"Why seal yourself?" Yunero, surprised, came to a halt almost immediately. "And how do you know sealing?"

"I sealed my ability to invoke all my spells except for a few, to be precise. With those that I keep, I've found a way to cast them without using my orbs. And Runes are the easiest form of sealing, it doesn't take a genius to figure things out."

"But why?"

"To keep a low profile. The last thing I need is my name spreading." Yunero, in a rare moment, snickered at that, as if it was a bad joke. Then again, it probably was. His profile and personality back in his original world was a rather huge contrast to what it was now. The Carl back then wouldn't have taken steps in concealing his identity. In fact, he would have probably used a spell or two to leave a lasting impression. Oh, how have times changed...

"Right... Carl the Invoker actually taking steps to concealing his identity. Sun Wu Kong would have a riot if he ever heard that." Carl couldn't help but nod his head at that one.

"And Yunero the Juggernaut actually conversing with the Invoker in a civil manner. It would make for a rather bad joke, wouldn't it?"

Blake's POV

"So, seems like we're not the first pair to arrive." Blake's heart skipped a bit, noticing what the artifacts exactly were. Chess pieces. Seating neatly around the area were sixteen different stands, although four of which had nothing on them, indicating that there had been others here before them. The pieces that were gone had to four Pawns, as there were no Pawn Pieces left present. There were four Knights, four Rooks, Four Bishops and in the top part of the circle were another two stands, only those stands each contained a piece that caught her eye. Two Queens, sitting lithely on the stands. The first question that came to her mind was, why were there two Queen pieces sitting in the top arc? Why not just arrange them properly along with the rest?

She remembered what which piece stood for in chess. The Knights, fast moving pieces designed for moving by leaps of intuition along an L shape. One interesting thing that piece was that no matter how you played it, every time you moved it, it would always alternate ending up in a black or white spot. Never any other way.

The Rooks, designed for movement along the four Cardinal Directions. It was simple, they represented the sordid, firm and undying will of people and their physical prowess to boot as well.

The Bishops, only able to move diagonally and stay in the colour of the piece that they are.

But the most important piece, the Queen, or Queens in this case. It represented the limitless flexibility and potential that one could have, and were able to move in any direction throughout the board. So who exactly were the two strong enough for them to get the Queen Pieces? Blake knew that despite how much she wanted it to be, she most definitely could not be a Queen in this case. She didn't know how she knew it, she simply did. However, she still did not want to be seen as something worthless. After all, they were pieces in a game and she wanted to prove that she was better than a Pawn.

"Hey, Blake. How about a cute little pony?" Her partner suggested, holding up one of the Knights. Nodding her head, Blake took the Knight Piece from the stand opposite of Yang's. Grasping it in her hand, she analyzed the piece, noticing how Yang's Knight was a tint of yellow instead of the conventional white or black like typical chess pieces. "Well, that wasn't too hard." Yang commented first.

"Well, it's not like this place was very difficult to find." Blake pointed out, noting that this place was in fact, actually pretty noticeable. It was like the Headmaster wanted them to find this place. But there had to be more to this initiation then just finding the relics, right?

"Huh, seems like we weren't the here first, Yunero." Turning towards the forest, she watched as two figures emerged from the thick foliage. One was the swordsman that had observed her during the little incident with the Schnee yesterday, whom she dubbed to be Yunero. However, the second figure made her eyes go as wide as saucers, upon seeing the person that had possibly impacted her life the most, even more so than Adam Taurus himself. Not that she would probably admit it anyways.

"Carl." It wasn't a friendly greeting or anything, more of one with hostility complete with the glare.

"Fancy meeting you here, Belladonna." The infuriating smirk that she knew adorned his face, and Blake was beginning to question her decision on whether she should have come to Beacon or not in the first place. She should have just applied for a different Academy, maybe Haven or Shade would have been a better choice at this rate. Why did she even apply for Beacon in the first place? Sure it did cost her less lien, but now she was contemplating if saving a bit of lien was worth it.

"What are you doing here?"

"Taking the initiation, what else?"

"I'm surprised that you needed to take one, what happened to being a Beacon of Knowledge blazing across a black sea of ignorance?" Now it was her turn to smirk, as Carl lost that smirk of his and his face morphed into a sign of annoyance. Good, it seemed like she still had the ability to mess with Carl.

"Damm, Blake! That was a good pun." Yang gave her a thumbs up, but she ignored it, still focused on Carl. Until Yunero broke the silence.

"Should have told me you have a girlfriend, Carl." Now, it was the swordsman's turn to smirk as she lost the smirk simultaneously. "I'm surprised that you found someone else who can match you in a battle of words." He continued, sounding almost innocent of not for the smirk on Yunero.

"We aren't dating, that I can assure you, Yunero." Carl was the first to react, glaring at Yunero who seemed to shrug off the glare like it was nothing.

"A pity, you two would make a good couple." If this was Carl's friend, she dreaded the implications that would follow. He seemed to- Her train of thought was derailed by a sound that seemed to be directly coming from above? And it seemed to be getting louder. Then the high pitched scream came. She winced ever so slightly, her face managing to stay neutral somehow as she tanked the slight pain that was the result of the scream.

"Hey, some girl's in trouble!" Blake meanwhile, looked up, trying to spot what was going on above. By the sounds of it, someone was falling. Her yellow eyes peered into the sky, and she spotted the red hood/cape of a certain girl. "Blake, did you hear that?" Ignoring Yang's question, she pointed a single finger upward, which caused her partner to look up as well. "Alacrity!" Just in time to see Carl leaping up as he spoke a single word. Since when could he leap up that high?

Yunero snickered lightly. "Show off." The next two actions that Carl took made her see him in a new light. One, he managed to somehow push a blonde boy that flew out of nowhere and redirect his flight path towards Yunero. Two, he managed to somehow almost immediately twist his body midair to turn a full 180 degrees and catch Ruby in a bridal carry. The result? Blonde boy was caught by Yunero, still standing without any problem while Carl landed safely on the ground, his knees slightly bent as he put the now stupefied Ruby onto the ground.

"That. Was. AWESOME!"

"So people find the weirdest ways to get to this place. Good to know." Carl commented, dusting himself just as the next weird thing happened. From the forest, an explosion was heard, along with the joyous shriek of a girl. Wait. Was that a girl riding in on an Ursa? The Ursa collapsed onto the ground, dead, making the girl roll down from its back, while a guy emerged from the back of it too. He must have been clinging onto the back of Ursa.

"Aw, it's broken." The girl said it in such a sad tone, as if she was genuinely sad.

"Nora? Please, never do that again." The guy panted. It seemed that the Ursa riding had taken its toll on his stamina, as he panted. Meanwhile, the girl had managed to somehow get past them so fast that they didn't even notice. Then she grasped the golden Rook and began to balance it on her head. Blake couldn't really tell if this was actually happening or whether this was simply a dream. Still, she was somewhat proud of herself of being able to keep on a poker face.

"I'm the Queen of the Castle~" The now identified Nora sang, and this cemented the fact that the girl had probably a few screws lose in her mind, at least in Blake's eyes.

"Nora!" The boy yelled, and still with the Rook on her head, managed to somehow come to a complete stop and salute, before letting the piece fall onto a hand and dashing towards the boy. Ok, so she was energetic too.

"Did that girl just ride in on an Ursa?" Yang questioned, as if she sounded unsure of herself. Well, any sane person would probably question themselves too if this played out right in front of their eyes.

"I-" Whatever she was going to say was cut off, as the roar of a Deathstalker made them turn their heads towards the source, where a rather large one was chasing down a certain redheaded Spartan, leaving smashed and destroyed trees in its wake. The skill of Pyrrha Nikos was undoubtedly real, as she managed to somehow leap and avoid a few blows from the Deathstalker which might have otherwise guaranteed her to be 6 feet under.

"Jaune! You're alright!" She yelled, a hint of desperation that Blake could find.

"Did she just run all the way here with a Deathstalker on her tail?" This time, it was herself who raised the question.

"Why, yes of course." Carl took this chance to give her a perfectly deadpan response. Normally she would be annoyed by it, but now wasn't the time. Not when her partner seemed to be ready to explode.

Yang's lilac eyes turned into a crimson red, and a fiery aura emitted from her. Her partner seemed to have a short fuse of sorts, and she doubted that was really a good thing. "I can't take it anymore! Could everyone just chill out for two seconds before something crazy happens again?" Exactly two seconds passed, before she noticed Ruby pointing meekly upwards just as Ren joined them.

"Erm, Yang?" Looking up, she spotted the Schnee heiress dangling off the talon of the Nevermore that had been circling them around for a bit.

"How could you leave me?" For some reason, Ruby was able to hear the Schnee's yell. Then again, she was a shy but hyperactive 15 year old girl.

"I said, jump." Ruby shrugged her shoulders, although her facial expression was a dead giveaway that she hadn't been exactly sure about that move herself either. She probably still wasn't.

"She's gonna fall." Blake couldn't help but point out. Despite her dislike of the Schnee Heiress, she didn't want to see her die. She wasn't as cruel as others, after all.

"She'll be fine." Ruby stated again, but her voice gave away her worry this time.

"She's falling." Ren deadpanned.

"One would think that you guys should at least help." Carl pointed out. "Don't worry, I got it!" Jaune yelled, dashing forward his hands outreached. Well, it was easy to predict what happened next.

"My hero..." For some reason, Blake couldn't help but feel that Weiss had unintentionally stole Carl's thunder. After all, he was the most sarcastic person she knew and Blake highly doubted that she was going to find someone else as sarcastic as him.

"My back..." Jaune groaned out, feeling the pain. Well, at least the blonde knight helped, when no one else would.

Just then, a spartan came flying, landing near Ruby and Yang, her form crumpled on the ground. It seemed that she couldn't have evaded the Deathstalker for too long, judging by her exhaustion. "Great, the gang's all here. Now we can die together." Yang spoke sardonically, triggering a response from Ruby.

"Not if I can help it!" She began to whip out her scythe, but was stopped by Yunero who put a hand in front of her. How had he gotten in front of her so fast?

"Do not charge in recklessly. Impatience will only get you killed. That Grimm is old, by the looks of it. Not to mention that we have the Giant Nevermore still circling us. And it seems that we have even more company too." He gestured towards the woods, where another Grimm came bursting out. And boy it was tall.

"That's a Goliath? How is that possible? Dad said they travel in herds and are found outside the Kingdoms!" Ruby began to panic, but Yunero put a hand on her shoulder, effectively calming her down. It was strange how both Yunero and Carl were so calm, as if this was nothing new to them.

"Damm, are we going to make it out of this alive?" Jaune had a valid point. They were all young Huntsmen and Huntresses in training, how were they going to deal with all of this?

"And that is why I told you to not recklessly charge in. We cannot afford to flee now. We must fight." Then Yunero drew what Blake had to deem the most beautiful blade that she had ever seen in her entire life. She couldn't help but be enthralled by the sword, glowing pink with Sakura petals falling to the ground even as it remained still. The blade appeared to be serrated, with some sort of engraving on its blade. The hilt, if it could even be called one, was simply some sort of metal wrapped around the handle and the bottom part of the blade. The bottom of the handle had a gem attached to it, with some sort of claw like thing holding it in place. "And we will win." For some reason, Blake couldn't help but find herself wanting to agree wholeheartedly with Yunero as she began to reach for Gambol Shroud.

 **A/N: And that concludes this chapter. To be honest, writing from the perspective of Blake is rather difficult due to the fact that Blake is a very hard character to write itself. But I tried anyways, and yolo. Personally, I'm someone satisfied with this chapter and if you are curious about the stuff about Carl, please understand that I won't explain it all just yet. These kinds of things will take a while to fully explain, as the plot develops.**

 **Hoped you guys enjoyed this chapter and leave a review if you guys think that there's room for improvement or any requests that you want! Some requests will be considered. Feel free to PM me if you want. Absurd requests are obviously not allowed and dun flame. I am only a amateur at this shit.**

 **On that note, peace out mofos!**

 **322n(Ya friendly asian)**

 **Songs:**

 **Teriyaki Boyz - Tokyo Drift**

 **Ella Mai - Trip**

 **Tinie Tempah - Written in the Stars ft Eric Turner**

 **Dota 2 Music Pack by TheFatRat - Warrior's Song**


	4. Fight

**Pink Pidgeon: Again, I won't explain these things that fast about Carl. I want to let these kinds of things slowly develop, because again, character development for the Invoker is a tricky thing that cannot be instantly done and the flashbacks for his and Yunero's are part of those details that will take a while. As for the spells, I am not going to spoil too many details about it to be honest. Right now, they are in a world of Aura and Semblances where magic is already considered a myth, so it won't be exposed that fast. Also, as long as it works, it works. Also Dagon 5 Eblade Shotgun combo is ggez. Anything is possible when you are playing SEA as long as you win.**

Yunero's POV

"We will win." As he ended his sentence, he glanced at the Serrakura. So much for thinking that he wouldn't need to draw it today. That kind of mindset would have been disciplined by his master had he been here with Yunero too. The Serrakura would be perfect when dealing with the Goliath, due to the fact that its thick armor and hide was a nuisance that would take longer to deal with if he chose to use the Blackened Edge instead and its tusks would be deadly if he wasn't careful.

"So what's the plan?" The slightly injured Spartan was the first to speak up, armed at the ready with her spear and shield. It seemed that her Aura had done its work, and she would be able to carry on.

"The plan is very simple. First of all, I need to do something. **Experience true swiftness**!" The tone of Carl had completely changed into one of a deeper tone, as gold fires simultaneously ignited everyone's hands. Yunero found his hands blazing in a gold fire, although it was harmless. "Now we are ready. Let's go." His eyes had opened once more, but they were now a golden colour that any normal person would be mesmerized by. Yunero could feel his body becoming lighter, as well as his strength becoming stronger. Even if it was only going to last for a little while. He couldn't help but note that it was not as strong as it normally would be, which probably meant that the effects were more spread around people this time. Yet, the spell was strong enough to make quite the difference. His mind was clearer too, it was as if his processing speed had gone up as well. Was this the true power of Alacrity?

"Wait, what's happening, Carl?" This time, Yang was the one to speak up. "Why are my hands on fire?"

"It's part of my semblance, Alacrity. It enhances someone for a while, although it can be used in larger groups but the concentration of the power will be lesser in exchange. You can move faster, hit harder and such. Do not rely on it too much, because it will not last forever. Also, we might have more Grimm coming in, so be careful. " As Carl turned around, another question stopped him in his tracks.

"Wouldn't that be draining on your aura? For so many people at once?" Now, Ren spoke up.

"No, this is not even close to draining my Aura. The only real limit is how much your bodies can take the enhancement before it starts to become exhausting for your body. When your body starts to hit a certain level of fatigue, it will end, so be careful." Nodding their heads, Carl began to explain the next faucet of their plan.

"Now, we have two options. We split up, and deal with the Goliath, Deathstalker and Nevermore seperately. We can't let the Goliath get too close, no matter what."

"But why?" Yunero was tempted to facepalm, he was sure that the reason souldn't take a genius to find out, but Jaune had proved him wrong once again.

"The foundations of this place don't look too strong, and this place is near a canyon. If this place collapses while we fight the Goliath, chances are we are going to end up under six feet of rubber and stone. The Goliath's weight is probably enough to cause the foundations to weaken severely, and the battle might make it give way completely." Nodding his head in understanding, Jaune quietened down.

"So now, we split up. I will deal with the Goliath myself, while Carl deals with any oncoming Grimm and helps me. Yang's outburst has probably attracted more Grimm, and Goliaths typically have other Grimm following them in hopes for easy prey. The rest of you should deal with the Deathstalker and Nevermore." His plan was paused by surprisingly of all people, Blake Belladonna.

"Are you insane? There's no way you could take on a Goliath by yourself!"

Yunero simply exhaled slightly, twirling his blade in a flurry of pink as Sakura petals continued to fall onto the ground. "You learn a thing or two when you live in the outside the kingdoms, fighting for your life everyday." This new revelation about him seemed to cause quite the stir amongst the group. He smirked. He was technically telling the truth after all, and he had accumulated enough experience fighting the Grimm to know how to deal with almost all different types of Grimm.

"Come on, we've got no time to waste." Carl snapped the group of their daze, nodding his head at Yunero. "We'll see you two later." The two of them began their sprint towards the Goliath that was still slowly lumbering towards them, leaving the others in a daze.

Ruby's POV

"Come on, let's move!" She urged, snapping out of the daze first as the others were still shell shocked by how fast Yunero and Carl had moved. The only reason why she wasn't stunned by that feat was because of the fact that she herself was a speedster, but even then she couldn't help but be slightly jealous of them being able to do so. She was supposed to be the speed person, not anyone else! Internally, she formed a pout but her friends were already coming out of their daze.

"Yeah!" As Ruby began to use her semblance, she realized one thing. She was even faster than before! This was so awesome! She would have to thank Carl later, but for now, they had Grimm to slay. At least she would be able to cut through Grimm more easily, if what Carl said was true... Wait a second. If the concentration of power was lesser, than what if Carl only used his Semblance on himself? Wouldn't he be just as fast as Ruby, or perhaps even faster?

"Hey, Rubes! Now's not the time to be distracted!" Hitting herself in the head mentally, she realized that she had let her thoughts wander a bit too much.

"Thanks, Yang!" She yelled out as they neared the place where Yunero had indicated for them to fight. It seemed that there were large pillars that they could use to help do aerial combat in the air against the Nevermore, and a few bridges that would allow them to hold against the Deathstalker in a bottleneck. Good. This would be a good place for combat. The only risk was that the structure that they were in was over a canyon, but they should be able to make it, right?

Unfortunately, the speed boost that Carl gave them still wasn't enough, and the Nevermore overhead had managed to surpass them, landing on the tower before giving out a large screech. Behind them, the Deathstalker burst from the trees, smashing everything in its path, trapping them in a pincer maneuver. Thankfully, the answer for that came in the form of Ren and Nora, whom upon Ren's call, pulled out her grenade launcher, providing some form of cover as she showered the Nevermore with pink explosions, forcing the avian Grimm to fly away and giving them more space to continue running towards the bridge. Her aim was true, as the first canister had managed to strike the Nevermore's head, with other explosions happening near the body of the Grimm.

Blake's POV

Behind Nora, the Deathstalker came charging at said girl, but both Ren and Blake, upon eye contact, slashed at the Arachnid Grimm and stopped it in its tracks, giving time for the Heiress to land near Nora and use her glyph to pick Nora up and bringing her to safety. With Nora out of the way, both Ren and her began to retreat, with Ren before a leap into a roll to gain more distance. In front of her, the Spartan stopped, shifting her weapon into its rifle form before firing a few bullets, which hit the Deathstalker but seemed to have little effect. Ren turned around and used his SMGs for the same thing. but it still had little effect despite its high firing rate.

Right, the boost that Carl gave only applied to her least she seemed to be faster than the Deathstalker, which gave her the ability to leap forth and avoiding the stairs, landing a good distance in front of Ren and Pyrrha. Wow, this boost really seemed to be coming into handy. Blake was sure that she wouldn't have been able to jump that far without the Boost. As she looked back to check on Pyrrha and Ren, she couldn't help but notice that there was an X mark on the Deathstalker's mask. How much work was Carl's boost doing?

Still, Blake had no time to figure out the exact details, as her feet kept on moving for her, running across the bridge. Turning her head to the left, she noticed the Nevermore coming for a ramming attack, forcing her to halt almost immediately, as did Ren and Prryha. Just in time too, as the Nevermore rammed through the space that they would have been. Now, there were the only three of them on the side, while Ruby, Weiss, Nora, Jaune and Yang were on the other side. Charging forth, she pulled out Gambol Shroud, unsheathing the blade, giving her the ability to dual wield the sheath and the blade. Dashing forth, she began to use her weapon as a conduit for her aura as she parried the pincers of the Deathstalker, causing shockwaves to form while both Prryha and Ren provided covering fire.

"Shit!" Blake rarely cussed, but now was probably an appropriate time to do so. She had managed to parry the Deathstalker's stinger and one of the claws, but that had left her open to the third option of attack for the Grimm, its right Pincer. "I won't be able to make it in time!" She tried anyways, and was surprised when her sheath barely managed to deflect the pincer. This gave the the window to leap back to where Prryha and Ren were still firing. Damm, that blow from the Deathstalker had hurt even though she had barely managed to deflect it, and she let out a slight gasp of pain. As if that was on cue, Ren decided that the time for firing was over, and began to dash forward to replace Blake's place as the fighter.

Then the few events made her situation even worse. The first thing that she heard were the two explosions, then "NORA SMASH!" just as the cheerful girl slammed her hammer into the mask of the Deathstalker, somehow managing to force the Deathstalker into the concrete stairs with a crater that wasn't exactly the smallest, while creating a slight tremor. What was that strength? Blake couldn't help but question the strength of Nora Valkyrie. After all, the strength needed to force a Deathstalker, and an old one at that was probably insane, yet Nora had done it somehow. But as if fate was punishing her for not paying attention, the pincer of the Deathstalker pushed Nora back with enough force into her, accidentally pushing off a cliff.

Letting out another groan of pain, she let herself free fall for a few seconds, before folding her blade into a gun-blade with the extension ribbon. Firing off a shot, she gained enough momentum to hurl the blade towards a stone portion of the upper bridge to act as an anchor, allowing her to swing towards where Ruby, Yang and Weiss were fighting the Nevermore. And it was a coincidence that the Nevermore was flying towards her. Good, she could probably use it to help her to get onto the destroyed stone tower.

Bracing herself, she swung, using the anchor to pivot her further before detaching the gun blade. She felt the drain in Aura as she popped a clone, using it as a launchpad to allow her to land on the Nevermore, but not before slashing the mask of the Grimm more than a few times and leaving sizable gashes on it. As she performed a backflip onto the Avian Grimm, she sheathed her blade, using the cleaver portion to slash the body of the Grimm, leaving a trail of slashes and feathers as she leapt once again and finally, her feet touched solid ground, or to be more precise, the solid outer wall of the stone tower.

Leaping once more and landing next to Yang, she couldn't help but feel that today had been a lot of free falling and leaping, just without any safety. "It's tougher than it looks." Indeed, she had slashed the Grimm several times and Nora had peppered it with several explosions, yet it seemed to be still growing strong, constantly flying around them and letting out ear piercing screeches. Or was it? The screeches seemed to have lessened in volume, even if the others couldn't tell. "How tough is this thing?"

"Let's hit it with everything we've got!" As Yang engaged her shotguns, Blake unsheathed her blade and shifted it into a pistol, while Ruby's scythe sprouted out and Weiss's dust canisters on Myrtenaster spun once before the four of them opened fire on the Nevermore. Just how strong was this Grimm? She could't help but think, as the Grimm tanked quite a number of their hits and was still flying towards them with a ramming attack like it was nothing. She sighed, as the four of them leap while the Nevermore missed its mark, crashing into the tower and causing the stone tower to begin to crumble.

Using her enhanced agility, she leapt from falling debris to debris, before landing on a stone pillar sideways and running straight up. She couldn't help but notice that her speed was enhanced much more than usual, allowing her reach the top of the pillars first and giving her the time she needed to reform the extending ribbon with the anchor to Weiss made use of her Glyphs as a platform to jump off them, while the two sisters made use of the recoil in their guns to push them up as they leapt up from debris to debris. As the four of them got onto another bridge, she couldn't help but note that the Nevermore had taken some damage, but it wasn't going down just yet. They needed more.

Jaune's POV

As the Deathstalker managed to free it's stinger, the bridge began to shake, meaning that it wasn't going to be safe any longer the bridge. "We gotta move!" He urged the others, and they began to dash towards the Deathstalker. "Prryha! To your left!" He yelled out, his mind somehow managing to spot the Deathstalker's left pincer coming their way. Nodding her head, Prryha blocked it, before stabbing the pincer and forcing the Deathstalker to lift it back as it roared in pain. Then the Deathstalker's right pincer came, and he managed to block it just in time, his shield unwavering as he tanked the blow, before pushing it off just in time for Prryha to launch a counter attack at it. He nearly lost his balance, but managed to regain in time for Ren to make his move. Said guy dashed forth, firing a few short bursts at the Deathstalker before dodging the stinger and hanging onto it for dear life while firing a few more short bursts at its masks.

Was this what a battle felt like? Damm, his arm had felt like lead for a second, after blocking that blow. It was hard, but somehow he had managed to push the Deathstalker's pincer away. The Deathstalker clashed its pincer's together, just as Nora's grenade canisters flew forth, forcing both Jaune and Prryha back. Somehow, he had remained standing, but his palms were sweaty, knees weak, arms were heavy. Winding back, Prryha threw her spear, her aim proving to be true as it struck the mask of the Deathstalker. Damm, it still wasn't dead? Its tail swung wildly, trying to shake Ren off, but Ren managed to hold firm, before leaping off towards the dirt, knowing that he couldn't do anything anymore.

Noticing how the Stinger of the Deathstalker was dangling precariously due to Ren's firing, he realized something. The answer to defeating the Deathstalker had been dangling in front of him this whole time. How had he not seen it earlier? "Prryha!" Nodding her head, she threw her shield towards the Deathstalker, severing the stinger and it landed on the mask of the Deathstalker. Perfect. Things were falling into place, literally. **(Yes, the puns in this paragraph are intentional.)** Now time for the finishing blow. "Nora! Nail it!"

"Heads up!" She called, and Prryha put the shield above her, giving Nora the perfect launch pad. Pulling the trigger, she let herself fly into the air smiling. Jaune swore that the girl would always be smiling, no matter what. Even if their lives were at risk like earlier. His eyes nearly went wide like saucers, as he realized that Nora made another explosion in the air and had began to spin. It didn't take a genius to find out that the impact was going to be big, and he began to brace himself. Just in time too, as Nora smashed into the Deathstalker with a loud boom, one so loud that Jaune was sure that his ears were still ringing. "Oof!" Then he hit the dirt but first, unlike his partner whom somehow managed to before a cool landing. Ren stumbled next to him, somewhat exhausted as he panted. Huh. At least they made it. So how were the others doing? He wondered as the adrenaline rush began to wore off.

Ruby's POV

Ruby was sure that her partner had thought that she had lost her marbles upon explaining her plan. Then again, it did sound somewhat ridiculous. but at least they had a plan, right?

Step 1: Get the Nevermore grounded. Their bullets and dust attacks weren't doing too much, so they would have to ground it and use their weapons more effectively. And that was where Yang came in. She was now on one of the stone pillars, firing several shotgun shells to get the Nevermore's attention. With precise aim, Yang snagged the right eye of the Nevermore, causing it to let out a screech of pain and stumble in its flight. As the Nevermore flew towards her sister with an open beak, Yang took the invitation and leapt into the Grimm's mouth, before firing several shots into its mouth while using one hand to keep it open. "I! Hope! You're! Hungry!" Noticing how they were about to crash into the cliff, Yang leapt off, causing it to crash into the cliff. Step one was complete.

Step 2: Keep it grounded. As the Nevermore crashed into the cliff and landed, Weiss began to make use of her glyphs to move forth at a fast rate, allowing her to approach the Grimm fast enough. Leaping up, she stabbed her rapier into the tail of the Nevermore, causing the tail to be trapped in a newly formed Ice Wall before Weiss disengaged with one of her glyphs to land next to Ruby.

Step 3: Launch herself towards the Nevermore, and well, use the cliff as a runway to drag it up and hopefully decapitate it. Unsheathing Gambol Shroud, Blake shifted it into the third form before hurling the anchor part towards Yang, whom stabbed it into the stone pillar, while Blake pulled back on the ribbon for tension. Meanwhile, Ruby launched herself towards the ribbon, setting down in the middle of the ribbon while nearing the ground. Weiss, already in position, summoned another Glyph, and used the Gravity dust in Myrtenaster on her Glyph, effectively forcing Ruby as close to the ground as Gambol Shroud's ribbon would allow.

"Of course you would come up with this idea." Weiss spoke, her condescending tone clearly not believing in the idea.

Ignoring that, she asked her own question innocently. "Think you can make the shot?"

"Well, can I?" The snide tone did not get to Ruby, who proceeded to ask again but was eventually cut off by Weiss. "Of course I can!" As she reloaded her rifle, Weiss began to prepare herself, ready to release the Glyph. Her fingers closed around the trigger, and she pulled, just as Weiss used the Glyph to push her, giving her the speed and momentum. As Ruby flew through the air, she began to fire a few more shots, giving her the recoil needed to reach the Nevermore. As she reached the Nevermore, her momentum caused her to go forth and land on the side of the cliff, while her baby caught the neck of the Grimm.

The cliff was then lined with snowflake sigils, the sign that Ruby needed. She exhaled a bit, before beginning her run to the top as she fired even more bullets for the recoil as she yelled. Halfway through, she felt the weight of the Nevermore beginning to lessen, and she pushed herself even further, now yelling at the top of her lungs. As she approached the cliff's end, she felt the weight completely gone, as the head of the Nevermore flew above her, carried by the momentum. As the body of the Avian Grimm began to fall, she landed on the cliff's edge, a flurry of rose petals left in her wake. She had done it, somehow. No, they had done it. They had killed the Nevermore.

She peered off the cliff, down on the people whom had made it possible for her to do so. This feeling, of something. It felt good, as she savoured it and took it all in. Then her knees began to feel weak every so slightly.

Carl's POV

"I'll admit, that's impressive for a fifteen year old. But the buff probably wore off soon after. For her at least." Carl commented, as the video ended.

"And next, we have Blake Belladonna, Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee and Yang Xiao Long. The four of you retrieved the Knight Pieces. From this day forth, you work together as Team RWBY, led by Ruby Rose." Carl, deciding that a little acknowledgement was needed, decided to clap his hands. It had been a while since he had seen someone pull off such a stylish kill, and Ruby certainly hadn't disappointed in that aspect. Ruby might not have known it, but she had earned Carl's respect, something that very few had the honor of having.

"Carl? Yunero?" Jaune was the first to spot them, as they stepped down from the stage.

"Hey." Yunero greeted, opening his eyes.

"Catch you all later." Carl responded, as he and Yunero got up, knowing it was their turn next. As the two of them got up, everyone stared at them. How could they not? After all, Yunero had managed to take down a Goliath, a feat that many of his fellow first years and perhaps some of the second years would have deemed impossible. And Carl had held his own against many Grimm like a Professional Huntsman through nothing but hand to hand combat, a skill that Huntsman lacked these days due to their over reliance on weapons. The video clip played above, showing exactly what their feats were.

 _Emerald Forest_

 _"So, this is what I came here for?" Carl murmured, stopping at the edge of the woods. There were packs of Beowolves, led by an Alpha each. Behind them stood several Ursai, with at least two Ursa Majors. He laughed. How could he not? This was an insult to Ulfsaar, the Ursa Warrior. None could hold a candle to one of the Ursine Tribe after all._ _"Come then!"_

 _The first pack of Beowolves came charging at him, with the Alpha leading the charge. Unfortunately, it's head was also the first to meet the fist of Carl, covered by the Magnus Accord. The Alpha began so still for a moment, it was like time had suddenly stopped for it. The only thing that indicated that time was still moving was the fact that the rest of the Pack was still eagerly charging forward. Charging forth towards their deaths. Like a loud shotgun gone off, a bang was heard, and the Alpha Beowolf was blown back along with the rest of its pack, clearly dead with the head blown off, Carl's weapon smoking from the impact. "Seems like learning to concentrate my mana in the Magnus Accord had been a good idea." He couldn't help but comment, as the other Grimm began to take on a cautious stance against the prey._

 _The sciene behind the technique was simple. He simply concentrated a small amount of mana into the fists section of the Magnus Accord, wounding it up with tension before letting it go. After all, Mana appeared to be the more potent energy over Aura in Remnant. Losing patience, a few Beowolf packs and Ursai began to charge forth, wanting to make use of their numbers to take down Carl._

 _"Not good enough. Ulfsaar could give much more of a fight than this." Carl sighed, knowing that there was going to be no thrill in this fight, like many of the other fights that he had partaken before._

 _Yunero's POV_

 _As he approached the Goliath, he couldn't help but notice that the Grimm was probably half a century at best. Still, he couldn't let the Grimm get too close to the stone ruins. After all, it would bring nothing but trouble. He should probably wrap this up as soon as possible. He couldn't take the risk._

 _As if on cue, the Goliath let out a loud trumpeting sound, one that was almost deafening to his ears, but the pain was nothing compared to what the queen of Pain could inflict. Coming to a full stop, Yunero shifted into the stance that he would require for his technique. The Goliath, letting out another trumpeting sound, began to charge towards him, its Ivory tusks aimed at him, intent on skewering him. "Blade Dance, Saisho no Suteppu: Su Gi Ni." He muttered, before his leg muscles tensed and propelled him forward and past the Goliath, landing behind. The only trace of him having been past the Goliath was the pink streak left behind by the Serrakura._

 _A second later, the effect of his attack worked its magic, as the Goliath's rights legs were severed, causing the Grimm to lose its balance and fall to the ground with a loud boom. Now, all he had to do was to pierce the mask._

"And finally, we have Yunero Jugg and Carl Karus. The two of them retrieved the Queen Pieces. From today forth, you two will be known as Team Joker(JK). Congratulations are in order, young men. It's been a long time since we've had a two man team in the Academy." Joker? That was fitting, considering the fact that he and Yunero were two wildcards in this game, whether the Headmaster knew it or not.

"Thanks, Headmaster." Carl responded with a smile, shaking the Headmaster's hand.

 _ **Translation:**_

 _ **Saisho no Suteppu: Isshun De - First Step: In a Flash**_

 **A/N: Im honestly surprised that I was able to get this chapter out this fast, considering how I had a test not too long ago and I was busy clearing up homework.**

 **Before you guys start complaining, keep in mind that Alacrity can only do so much. Its fullest potential is brought out when only used on a single person, which is why this seems more watered down. Alacrity is by no means overpowered, it only helped the people fight better and have better reflexes, that's why their different plans were able to go more smoothly. Normally in Dota 2, Alacrity only increases a hero's attack speed and attack damage, but this time round Alacrity also increases how fast they can process things.**

 **The reason why I chose to incorporate Japanese into Yunero's techniques is because Yunero was designed with a samurai concept in mind, at least that's how I see it. Feel free to give your opinion on this. Also this may seem like Yunero is op, but he is being buffed by Alacrity and the Serrakura's designed to cut through things, so that's why Yunero was able to cut through the Goliath's legs like it was nothing. He's also pushed his body to the limits, constantly training it. I am using Google Translate for the translations, so feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.**

 **Also, if you're wondering about the last name that I gave to Carl, Karus is Latin for something valuable, and there's a reason why Carl picked this name. With that alias, Carl indirectly tells Ozpin that he is valuable piece in the game of his that Ozpin is playing while appealing to his ego and that's the reasoning behind the name Karus. Also it rhymes.**

 **P.S. My skills at writing fighting scenes aren't the best, so yeet.**

 **Hoped you guys enjoyed this chapter and leave a review if you guys think that there's room for improvement or any requests that you want! Some requests will be considered. Feel free to PM me if you want. Absurd requests are obviously not allowed and dun flame. I am only a amateur at this shit.**

 **On that note, peace out mofos!**


	5. Loss

**31/10/2018, 1.06PM : Fixed a minor error**

 _RWBY Dorm Room_

Blake's POV

Blake was not a morning person. Her mannerisms were like a cat, lazy most of the time. But if there was one thing that cats would take over sleep, it was fish. Blake's faunus nature made her the same as the feline species, and her favourite type of fish happened to be tuna. "What's that smell?" She had woken up quite early, due to one thing. The faint but distinct smell of fish being cooked. Or to be more specific, the smell of tuna being cooked. Whoever was cooking the tuna had to be one hell of a chef, and a dedicated person too, for no sane person would wake up at 5.30am in the morning to cook food. Still, the smell of the tuna was to enticing to be left alone. Sleep wasn't important right now, the tuna was. Getting up quietly, she snuck past her teammates who seemed to be asleep like dead people. She sighed, they hadn't developed their instincts to alert them in any emergency. Then again, none had an upbringing as harsh as hers.

Opening and closing the door proved to be easy, even as Yang stirred. The tuna was probably being prepared in the student lounge, given how their dorm rooms had no kitchen and students typically made do with canteen food, despite having the lounge for cooking. Then again, most people in the Academy probably never bothered to pick up something as trivial as cooking, due to the fact that they were probably training at a tender age already. "Smells so good..." Blake couldn't help but mutter, moving closer to the source of the smell. Indeed, it was coming from the student lounge and the lights inside lit, indicating that someone was in there already.

As she peered into the student lounge, his voice was the first thing that registered in her mind. "And I thought I was the only one awake at such a time." Her fellow Hunter in training commented, not even bothering to look up from the pan as he continued with the process of basting the fish with melted butter. **(A/N: Fun fact: Basting is a type of cooking technique in which fat or meat juices are continuously spooned onto the meat/fish for a while to fully coat the thing that you are cooking.)**

"Yunero? What are you cooking so early in the morning?"

"I prefer to cook my own meals. I'm currently whipping up breakfast. Care for some? I have some leftover tuna if you want." Free tuna? Obviously she would want it! Whoever didn't like tuna was obviously someone whom had failed to see the greatness of the food.

"Sure, I'll take some." Blake managed to somehow retain her self-control, even as Yunero deftly slid the cooked tuna off the frying pan and onto the plate, before slicing it in half with a knife, but not before squeezing some lemon juice over it. Separating the two portions into different plates, Yunero passed a plate along with a fork and knife to Blake, whom seemed to be eager at trying the cooking of Yunero. Na, she was simply like excited by the fact that it was tuna."It smells good. How did you cook it?"

"Nothing much, just seasoned the fish with salt and pepper before melting some butter and basting it. I added some thyme and oregano for more flavour." Eagerly cutting a piece of the fish with the knife, she couldn't help but notice how flaky the fish was. It looked so tender, it was like the thing was coming apart even as she moved it around on her fork. "What are you waiting for?" Her face flushed lightly, slightly embarrassed by the fact that she had been caught staring at the tuna for so long, Blake decided that enough was enough and bit down on her tuna.

The flavour of the fish... Blake didn't even know where to begin. If perfection existed in a physical form, this was it. Her favourite food in the world, tuna, cooked to tender perfection and seasoned with herbs that she didn't even know could make such an impact molded together to bring out the full flavour that was within the tuna. It was without a doubt, perfection. "Judging by your moan, I would say I did a pretty good job." Yunero's comment made her blush uncontrollably. Was his cooking that good to make her moan without realizing it?

"It's...good." Blake managed to get out, refusing to look at the swordsman as she cut another piece of the tuna, before eating the second piece. This time, she was sure that she didn't moan, but she did still get carried away by the flavour as her mind tried to process the different flavours blending in together to give her the perfection that was the fish in her mouth. Realizing that she needed to eat more to try and understand what was the flavour that eluded her, she cut another piece.

"That was fast." Blake stared at her now empty plate, not believing how fast she had demolished her fish. It was like she had been a vacuum, and she never ever had eaten so fast in her life before. Not even when there had been tuna placed in front of her. Not till today, at least.

"Thanks for the meal. I should head back now." Nodding his head, Yunero picked up her plate, headed for the sink just as she walked as fast as her feet would allow her without waking anyone up. Damm, what was up with Yunero? He had slain a Goliath with ease, and now he proved to be a good cook. What next, he had a rival?

Back in the kitchen, Yunero sneezed, remembering a certain blue skinned rival as he washed the dishes.

 _Classroom_

Carl's POV

"For all their enthusiasm, they still ended up being almost late for the first day of class." Carl commented, analyzing Team RWBY and JNPR as they stumbled into Professor Port's class.

"I see that your caustic personality never seems to die down. Donte was right after all." Yunero replied dryly leaning back on his chair.

"Monsters! Demons! Prowlers of the Night! Yes, the creatures of Grimm have many names. But I, merely refer to them as, prey." The professor spoke, bursting into laughter as he finished his sentence. This was their first class, Grimm Studies with Professor Peter Port. And it seemed to be something that Carl wasn't going to look forward to, as he had already taken the time to figure out the weaknesses and strengths of the different Grimm that he fought.

"This professor's got a flair for theatrics, by the looks of it. So much that people are already starting to fall asleep." Carl commented, beginning to lean back on his chair. Although he couldn't help but notice something interesting. As the Professor spoke, he realized how the man taught. Rather than directly giving answers, he layered and hid them under the "dramatic" story that he was telling, which meant that one would have to listen carefully to figure out what they had to learn for the day.

"He's smart, despite what he portrays. Imagine their faces if they were to find out how he teaches." Yunero commented, crossing his arms and propping his legs onto the table.

"So you figured it out too, huh? But it's pointless for us to even listen, we know how to deal with different Grimm already." Nodding his head, imitated the same pose as Yunero. Hopefully something interesting would happen soon, this class was probably going to bore him.

 _Later_

"Now, who believes themselves to be an embodiment of these traits?" The Professor called out, gesturing to what appeared to be a caged Grimm. Good, something to do at last. His hand shot up into the air, just a split second before Weiss' hand did the same. "Ah, Mr Karus! A fine young man! Please go and change into your combat outfit." Nodding his head, Carl began to walk down the stairs and to the locker room, but not before noticing the look of rage on Weiss' face. Something was wrong, and it definitely involved the way Weiss was looking at Ruby. It was as if Weiss was trying to drill two holes, with how intense her glare was on the back of the oblivious Ruby.

Quickly grabbing the Magnus Accord and wearing them, he headed back. After all, he wanted this class to be over as soon as possible. "Mr Karus, are you not going to change your outfit?"

"No Professor. I'm fine. This will be over quick." He assured the Professor with a smile, whom seemed to have gotten an axe out of nowhere.

"Very well then. Let the match begin!" As he spoke, he slashed the lock. A Boarbatusk came charging out of the now unlocked cage, and Carl uttered a single world.

"Alacrity." With his fists now ignited in golden flame, he did not bother moving out of the path of the Boarbatusk, but instead did something else that surprised even the cheerful Professor Port. Too easy, he couldn't help but think as he grabbed the tusks of the Boarbatusk, his feet skidding back a meter or two before he came to a complete stop.

"What a bold appro-" The voice of Professor Port was drowned out by two resounding cracks as Carl twisted his hands, and the class was stunned as the tusks of the Grimm, fell onto the floor. The Grimm however, still foolishly ran back a short distance before charging at him once more with its half broken tusks. Too predictable. Choosing to do another thing that would definitely leave an impression on the class, he met the Grimm head on with a punch. A simple punch, with some effort behind it as he threw it. Yet, the result was anything but simple. The Boarbatusk ran straight into the fist, and another crack was heard. Then another. And another.

The mask splintered, but Carl's fist did not simply stop there. It penetrated the head of the Boarbatusk, and he let his fist stay in there for another second before pulling it out. "Well done, Mr Karus. Few would have dared to take an approach as bold as yours, but it appears that it is not a problem for you. Bravo!" Carl nodded his head at the comment, noting how he would have to clean his gauntlets to rid it of the blood. Thankfully, none of the blood had gotten onto his uniform, as that would definitely have been nothing but troublesome. "I'm afraid that's all the time we have for today. Be sure to cover the assigned readings, and stay vigilant!"

 _Locker Room_

"I'll see you later, Yunero. Make sure you work on your mana shield. We can't have our cover blown." As the swordsman headed off to do his own things, Carl decided that washing his weapon was probably the better option right now as he walked towards the sink. The reason why he and Yunero had to create a mana shield for themselves was to make sure that they could blend in, and create the illusion that they had aura. Since they were not denizens of this world, theyhad to improvise, and that meant recreating the skill that Medusa, the Gorgon once wielded as a skill.

And then he heard it.

"I study. I train. And quite frankly, I deserve better!" Maybe not. His weapon could wait. Putting his weapon away, he emerged from the locker room to see Weiss turning away from a sad Ruby. "Ozpin made a mistake." That declaration was more than enough for him to understand the situation.

Sighing, he looked at Ruby whom seemed to have not noticed him still, lost in her thoughts. "You know, Ozpin did not make a mistake, contrary to what your partner thinks."

"Carl? What are you doing here?" Ruby seemed to have jumped slightly, but he couldn't be too sure.

"You two were not exactly being soft outside the lockers." Carl commented, leaning against the wall. He sighed, this was one of those situations where someone disagreed about power, wasn't it?

"Oh... so how much of it did you hear?" She still seemed despondent, from the words hurled by Weiss. Then again, any normal 15 year old would probably be demoralized if they were in Ruby's situation as well.

"Enough to know that despite what your partner thinks, Ozpin did not make a mistake. That I can assure you."

"What makes you say that?"

"Call it instinct. You do have potential for being a good leader, but Weiss does not see it just yet."

"What do you mean I have potential?"

"I've seen people lead, and I know when people are capable of leading and when they are not. You simply happen to fall into the former category." Carl had seen leaders rise and fall, entire cities and civilizations rise and fall because of a capable or incapable leader. Ruby might not be a leader of that caliber, but she was certainly suited for being the leader of a 4 man squad. "It's also only the first day, and it does not mean that you have to show that you are leader immediately."

"If you say so, Carl." She still sounded doubtful, so Carl decided to continue speaking.

"You're the one who came up with the plan to kill the Nevermore. I wouldn't worry too much if I were you."

"But what if Weiss still doesn't accept it?" She feared rejection, huh? Fear is fleeting, but regret is forever. That he had learned the hard way, and learning the hard way was arguably not a pleasant thing.

"You can only wait. Patience is a trait that good leaders mostly have. In the meantime, think about how to best lead your team. It's only the first day after all, and you need not have to immediately start acting like a leader." Carl finally responded, beginning to walk away.

"Thanks, Carl."

"Later." Sighing, Carl began to walk in the direction that Weiss had went, and soon enough, he found her talking to Professor Port. Deciding that he had done enough, Carl turned back intent on heading back towards the dorms to change out of his uniform. It was too uncomfortable for him after all.

 _Second Day, Combat Class_

"So, combat class huh?" Carl glanced around the room, which had a rather large arena in the front. But the teacher of this class was none other than Glynda Goodwitch, which meant pretty strict regulations. The good thing was, they were allowed to wear their combat outfits and weapons here, which was much more comfortable, in his opinion at least. Still, this class was going to be interesting.

"Welcome to Combat Class, the class where you will learn from each other. I am Glynda Goodwitch, and I will be your teacher for this class. I would like everyone to know that this is a class not meant for settling your petty grudges, so if I see any form of intentional hurt or any attempt to continue the duel after it has been called, do know that the consequences will be dire. Is that clear?" Clearly, she was the kind to take no bullshit from anyone, and that was rather fitting, especially for this class where regulations had to be maintained strictly. "Now, for the first duel, may I have Yunero Jugg and Blake Belladonna on the Arena please?"

Oh? So Yunero was going to be fighting. And against one of the faster people that he had seen amongst the first years too. The day had just become much more interesting.

Yunero's POV

"I certainly didn't expect to fight on the second day. And against you, no less." Yunero greeted, keeling the Blackened Edge sheathed, hand on the handle as Blake wielded Gambol Shroud in its cleaver form. Today was probably going to be an ordinary day, at least that was what he thought. He did not really wish to fight, because he wasn't like Carl, whom found amusement in such things.

It wasn't that Yunero didn't wish to fight. He did not wish to fight against his fellow hunters and huntresses in training, because it wouldn't be much of a fight. It would be a goddamm massacre and only Carl was the one who could keep up with him now and give him a true fight.

Blake was definitely the person that in Team RWBY that was clearly the strongest in terms of technique and skill. Both Yang and Ruby's styles were their own, but their style was still too unrefined to give him sort of proper challenge. Weiss' style on the other hand... it felt like she was trying to emulate someone else, but clearly it wasn't working in her favour.

Blake, by the looks of it, had both her own unique style and some experience needed to go along with it, which would make her a troublesome opponent. Not only that, her semblance was still an unknown, so that could prove to be another minor annoyance. Still, she could never compare to the likes of Magnus and Bradwarden, whose skill and might were more powerful than her. One fought with the fury of an erupting mountain, while the other had rightfully earned his title as the strongest of his kind by blood, sweat and tears. There was a reason why both were hailed as one of, if not the strongest of their kind.

"3."

"I wasn't expecting it either." Blake admitted, drawing out the blade of Gambol Shroud, shifting into her dual wielding stance. So she intended on going hard on him in the beginning? That was fine with him. However, he couldn't help but recall the way that Blake had the ability to use her aura to form some kind of explosive attack, according to Carl. That meant that he was going to have to be wary, since he couldn't fully avoid any damage when fought. Hopefully his incomplete mana shield would be able to take care of that. Maintaining his illusion of having aura now had to be done now, if he wished to continue to stay anonymous.

"I hope you can give me a good fight. It's been far too long since I've gotten one." Yunero didn't know why he said what he said, but he couldn't help but notice the slight shift in Blake's attitude. Perhaps it was because he had unwittingly given more information about himself?

"2."

"Why would you want a good fight?"

"1."

"Perhaps if you can give me one, I'll tell you." It was true though, he had yearned for a good fight. A challenge that he could use, to test his limits. To see how far he could go, before he tasted defeat again. But then again, to him, victory and defeat did not mean anything anymore. Not after the Isle of Masks was gone. If victory was a forgone conclusion, then what was defeat?

"Begin!"

Defeat, was nothing more than an indicator that he had to get stronger. Yunero couldn't help but think, as he made the first move. " _Blade Dance, Saisho no Suteppu: Furasshu Ryuu_." He was sure that Blake wasn't one to be stunned that easily, hence he had decided that it was fitting that he use the First Step of the Blade Dance on her first. If she managed to avoid or at least parry the blow, that would mean something at the very least. Now, was she good?

As he unsheathed his sword, he moved in that single instant, ending up behind a few meters behind a shell shocked Blake. Nothing hinted his movemeny towards that spot, except for a blackish red line, as if someone had drawn in that space where Yunero had moved through, showing his speed. Still, he couldn't help but be slightly surprised. After all, his blade had hit not hit her, but rather he had hit her sheath. Good. This would be an interesting fight, even if he was still holding back. "I'm surprised that you were able to block that."

"That was the same technique that you used against the Goliath, wasn't it?" Blake held an accusing glare against him, but he didn't care. After all, if she was able to block his attack like that, she was good. But another question now took the place of the previous one. Was she good enough?

"Guilty, but I toned down the strength." Yunero admitted, holding his sword in a more defensive stance. "Now, your turn. I hope you do not disappoint." His concentration did not waver in the slighest as he braced himself for Blake's offense, even as he heard a high pitched squeal from where the rest of Team RWBY was standing.

Ruby's POV

"I'm surprised you didn't react like that when you first saw the Serrakura." Ignoring Carl's remark, she continued to stare at what had to be one of the most beautiful weapons that she had seen in her entire life.

"The Serrakura?"

"The sword that Yunero used to kill the Goliath."

"Sounds like the person who named it had a fondness of cherry blossoms." Yang snarked, but Ruby couldn't help but notice the glare that Carl shot her sister, as if the blonde brawler had disrespected someone.

"The blade has a rather dark past despite its appearance When the one whom forged it finished it, he said this and I quote 'Here, at last, is a killing kind of beauty.' The Serrakura is deadly as it is beautiful." Ruby tried to understand what that meant. So the Serrakura was clearly meant for cutting and killing. But what about the one that Yunero was holding?

Seeing her confused look, Carl continued to speak. "The one Yunero currently holds is called the Blackened Edge of the Bladekeeper, or simply called the Blackened Edge."

"It...fits." Ruby responded, looking at the Arena, where the blackish red streak and started to fade away. The edge of the blade, it seemed to be glowing red? And was there something black emerging from it? "But why is his blade glowing like that? And what is with the long name?"

"The one whom forged this, got a bit of dust inside the metal by accident, and when exposed to the fire of the forge, the Blackened Edge was the result. As for the long name, it was because the blade once belonged to someone whom had the title of Bladekeeper, hence that title to honour him." Carl continued, his eyes never leaving the screen once.

"It looks so beautiful..."

"Sorry, Rubes is into weapons." Yang patted her head, leaving her to pout childishly. "But your weapons and Yunero's seem to be unable to shift into something else. So you have no ranged weapons?" Yang had actually brought up a valid point. She had seen everyone's weapon have some sort of ability to mecha shift, exluding Weiss' multi function rapier and Jaune's sword. While Weiss had her dust attacks to help her and Jaune at least had Prryha to help provide covering fire, Team Joker had no ranged options at all.

"My gauntlets were designed with my semblance in mind, so to add such functions would not work. My semblance is odd that way."

"Wait, what do you mean it was designed with your semblance in mind? Your semblance can affect weapons as well?" Ruby asked, her eyes widening slightly ay such a discovery. If his semblance could affect weapons as well, the possibilities could be endless! Her scythe would become more awesome without having to actually do anything!

"Yes, but unfortunately I found out the hard way that it does not work on mecha shifting weapons. If your weapon needs to constantly shift around a lot into different forms, the speed that it shifts will be so fast that the weapon will fall apart almost instantly due to the speed and force it shifts at. You can imagine what happens if I used it on Cresent Rose." Her baby, gone? No, Ruby could never imagine that happening. She had designed to make sure it lasted, and she would make sure it did.

"Oh." Was all she could muster, her excitement slowly dying down.

"As for Yunero, the reason why he never uses mecha shifting weapons is very simple."

"What is it?" Ruby unable to hold back her curiousity. What reason would one have to not use the modern technologies available for every Hunter in Training? For a price, of course.

"The swords he use are relics of his past. It is a reminder." Carl's mood had turned somber, as if there was something serious that needed to be said.

"Sounds like he had a dark past too."

"I won't tell you about his past. That story is his alone to tell. But what I can tell you about him is this. I won't repeat myself and I will not say anymore after this. That clear?."

"Go on, we're all ears." Yang urged, and Ruby couldn't exactly hide her curiousity too. She did want to hear what Carl had to say about Yunero, seeing how the other half of Team Joker knew the swordsman more than any of them did.

"For one who has lost everything twice over, he fights as if victory is a forgone conclusion." Carl ended the conversation with silence, his concentration clearly now all on the screen, leaving Yang, Ruby and Weiss to ponder over the words that Carl had told them. Ruby couldn't help but realise that Weiss had not spoken a single word throughout the conversation, leading her to wonder what was on the heiress' mind.

Blake's POV

When Yunero had performed that first move, it was only instinct that saved Blake's aura bar from going down. Yet, she couldn't help but draw similarities between Yunero and her former partner, Adam Tarus. Both wielded a sword, and both seemed to have the skill of Iaido, a technique of quick drawing. The only thing was, while Adam would sheath his sword again, Yunero had not bothered to do so, instead adopting a different stance. "Now your turn. I hope you do not disappoint." The calmness that radiated from Yunero contrasted what Adam was, and it was clear as day that in the end, those two were different. Still, she couldn't help but notice that Yunero had left behind a blackish red streak of something that was fading away.

Noting how Yunero was not intent on moving, she began her offense. Her first swing with the blade ended up being parried, which she had expected. But the next swing of her cleaver being parried as well? That wasn't what she expected. He was so fast! How did Yunero manage to parry both her blade and her cleaver, when she made sure that he wouldn't be able to by timing her attacks? Still, her aura exploded in white around her weapon and his, making sure that he did not get away unscathed. Then the counter came.

With surprising strength, Yunero pushed both her cleaver and blade away, throwing her off balance for a second. But that single moment was all he needed, and Blake heard him whisper something, before he moved impossibly fast once more. "Not good enough. _Nibame Suttepu: Ryuu no shoten._ " With a single stroke, the swordsman knocked her into the air, the flat edge of his sword dragging her up. Blake couldn't help but cry in slight pain, as she felt the drain on her aura as it protected her from what would have definitely been a more painful experience if she didn't have it. Swinging her cleaver, she managed to get Yunero to stop pushing her up, allowing her for that little bit of space that she desperately needed to regain her balance and continue the fight mid air. Yunero swung his blade as he leapt up into the air after her, intent on cutting her, but she barely managed to deflect that attack, leaving Yunero open.

Sheathing the blade, she swung the cleaver at Yunero, knocking Yunero down onto the Arena floor. A solid hit for her. But still, she could't help but feel that this wasn't over. Risking a look, she glanced displayed aura bars of her and Yunero. She was currently in the upper yellow zone, while Yunero's aura was in the lower end of the green zone. "That was clever. I did not expect you to do that." Yunero had gotten up, and now adopted yet another different stance that was different from the first two. How many different stances did Yunero have? This was getting ridiculous, and she did not even know whether this stance was meant for offense or defence.

"How many different techniques do you have?" Blake questioned. If she had guessed right, he had displayed his second technique and she feared the other techniques to come.

"If I told you, I would have to kill you." The stoic expression of Yunero did not falter in the slightest, even as he said the words. "But you have managed to at least still stay up after the first two. That is slightly impressive."

"What would then count as impressive?" Blake was sure that Yunero had been holding back for the last two techniques, and she doubted that she was ready should he choose to unveil his third technique. To think that his techniques could be so terrifying. And according to Yang, he had no aura before initiation. Just what kind of monster was he?

"If your aura bar does not drop below yellow after this technique. _Sanban suttepu: Ryuu no Ikari_." Her eyes widened in alarm as Yunero leapt forth with a powerful Iaido strike, before performing a flurry of slashes that Blake tried her best to deflect. She first managed to deflect the slash that aimed for her waist, and avoided that one, before deflecting the next one that seeked her arm. The third, came far too fast for her, and the cleaver portin of Gambol Shroud was knocked, away. The fourth, she deflected, but the fifth aimed specifically at her wrist, knocked away the blade portion of Gambol Shroud. Leaving her defenceless. His speed, it simply outclassed hers. There was no other way to say it. Blake realised, as she continued to tank the onslaught of slashes. Then he moved.

To the right of her, as he continued to slash at her, making sure that she did not have the chance to even take a breath. His slashes suddenly stopped, and Blake could easily guess why. "Blake Belladonna's aura has dropped into the red. Yunero Jugg has won." As Blake went to pick up Gambol Shroud, she couldn't help but marvel Yunero's fighting prowess. It was unreal, to be honest. To be able to move so fast and use only three techniques to finish her off, he was strong. Far stronger than anyone in the first years, that she could safely say. And not only that, his speed was definitely on a whole another level. "Yunero Jugg, you have displayed excellent speed and skill befitting of huntsman. However, you seem to be caught off guard by unexpected maneuvers, so please keep that in mind when you fight more unconventional opponents. As for you, Blake Belladonna, you have shown to be capable of holding off swifter foes, even for a short amount of time. However, your defense seems to be lacking a bit." Nodding her head, she began to head back to her team, whom all for some reason were in deep thought. She raised an eyebrow. That was odd, to say the least. Her team wasn't the thinking kind, except maybe for Weiss. Walking forward, Blake winced in pain slightly. The techniques of Yunero had certainly left behind quite the impression and she had the feeling that she was going to be sore for a bit.

Her cheeks burned slightly, as she realised the implications of that thought. Hopefully her blush hadn't been noticed. However, her face met the knowing smirk of Yang. This was going to be a long day.

 _ **Translations:**_

 _ **Saisho no Suteppu: Furasshu Ryuu - First Step: Flashing Dragon**_

 _ **Nibame Suttepu: Ryuu no Shoten - Second Step: Dragon's Ascension**_

 _ **Sanban Suttepu: Ryuu no Ikari - Third Step: Dragon's Wrath**_

 **A/N: I have been focusing on this story a lot, to be honest. Kinda been neglecting my other story, and it's because I want to build up a solid foundation for this story before I move back to continuing A Hidden World. For now, I am still trying to focus on building some interactions, and I feel that starting with Yunero is the easier way, as Carl is a much harder person to write for.**

 **When Carl tells them that little bit of Yunero's lore, it leaves the team wondering about Yunero and what he's lost, creating more opportunities for interactions. Also, it kind of fits in Carl's personality, as he is someone who has lived so long, his perception of normal things is way more different, different from everyone one else. So when Carl reveals that bit of lore, he doesn't see it as wrong, due to his flawed perception. However, he still respects Yunero's personal story, therefore he does not tell the full story. He simply has a flawed perception.**

 **Hoped you guys enjoyed this chapter and leave a review if you guys think that there's room for improvement or any requests that you want! Some requests will be considered. Feel free to PM me if you want. Absurd requests are obviously not allowed and dun flame. I am only a amateur at this shit.**

 **On that note, peace out mofos!**

 _ **Songs:**_

 _ **Jeezy - Put On ft Kanye West**_

 _ **Juice WRLD - Lucid Dreams**_

 _ **The Black Eyed Peas - Boom Boom Pow**_

 _ **B.o.B - Airplanes ft Hayley Williams of Paramore**_

 _ **XXXTENTACION - SAD!**_

 ** _Eminem - Stepping Stone_**


	6. Insights

**Responding to reviews 101**

 **Legaras: The weapons I described are not the Shadow Blade, but rather blades that are from the cosmetic items of Yunero in DOTA 2. The Blackened Edge of the Bladekeeper is part of the set Balance of the Bladekeeper, while the Serrakura is an Immortal weapon for Yunero. Btw, an Immortal item in DOTA 2 is quite high. As for the fight scenes, I prefer to keep it slightly longer, to fully capture what goes on in their mind when they fight. And yes, again the point was to begin some character development so yeah, interactions are something that I'll be focusing on a bit more to give you insights on how I think the War of the Ancients has affected both of them and how it translates when they interact with "normal" teenagers.**

 _Rooftop, Evening_

Yunero's POV

"Why hold back so much?" Yunero looked at Carl with a deadpan expression, the two currently leaning against the railing. "You could have ended the match with that first strike if you wanted to."

"To test myself. But even when I hold back, it seems that no one is a match, not even the Mistral Champion." Yunero responded, looking at the setting sun with a hint of melancholy in his eyes. "Only Sven would be able to give me the fight that I seek." He added as an afterthought, remembering how he and the blue skinned swordsman had clashed several times.

 _"Yunero."_

 _"Sven."_

 _That greeting was more than enough, and the two of them began to clash once more. "_ _Blade Dance, Saisho no Suteppu: Furasshu Ryuu." Yunero whispered, as Sven let out a Warcry, charging forth with his sword ready to swing._

"No doubt. That man's strength is terrifying. Never in my life had I met a Meranth with such strength. To be able to break the inhibitors of the body with nothing but pure will, that is a feat that no one has ever managed to accomplish." Yunero nodded his head in agreement. It seemed that througout the war, Carl had started to respect some, while his dislike for some grew too. Sven simply fell into the former category. After all, no one had been able to remove the inhibitors of their own body by sheer will to exponentially power up themselves. The inhibitors were there, and they were there for a very good reason.

 _Sanban suttepu: Ryuu no Ikari." As Yunero performed his flurry of slashes against his rival, Sven used his sword to shield himself from some of the strikes, but several still got past his defense. With a mighty swing, Sven cleaved the space where Yunero once was, his sword sending dirt over the floor as Yunero was forced back by the sheer strength of the Meranth. And he hadn't even used his trump card yet. How terrifying._

 _"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Sven roared, as his skin turned red, a telltale sign of God's Strength being activated. With another swing of his sword, Sven slammed the ground with the Adjudicator's Blade, this time creating a shockwave that threw him off balance while causing dirt to explode upwards in a shower. Then the swing came, aimed at his head._

"I'll go now. Do what you will." Carl called out, but Yunero was too absorbed in the past to respond with a goodbye to the leaving magician even as Carl disappeared through the entrance of the rooftop.

 _"Coming through!" Yunero responded in kind, regaining his balance quickly enough, just in time to become a maelstrom of blades. Sven's swing was deflected, as Yunero performed Blade Fury, causing Sven to pause his offense as Yunero continued to spin, his blades coming dangerous close to wounding him. Using the sword as a shield once more, Sven held his ground, causing sparks to form from the clash between the Akakiryu and the Adjudicator's Blade. This effectively forced him to end the technique prematurely, as Sven could simply defend against the rest of the technique the same way._

 _Yunero knew that Sven was working on a timer here. Right now, his rival might have a greater edge in strength right now, but that could not last. Sven could only surpass his inhibitors for so long before his body started to fail, and Yunero knew that too. In the end, God's Strength had a timer, and Sven could not afford to exceed that timer. All Yunero had to do now was to bide his time and wait it out, before God's Strength ran out and the Meranth returned back to normal, giving him the respite needed._

 _Another swing struck the ground. Dirt was sent flying all over the place again, but Yunero dodged the heavy swing through a quick application of the First Step to avoid himself from getting cleaved into half. "Looks like it's just you and me." He whispered, before his feet propelled him towards Sven in a burst of speed, performing one strike. As he landed just a few centimeters away from Sven, Yunero twisted his entire body to face his unprotected back, before performing another slash at his back this time. He repeated the moves, constantly moving around Sven to prevent him from landing a proper swing while attacking his unprotected sides. After all, it wasn't like anyone could defend against this technique. It was the "Ultimate Offense", as the few who had seen it in action dubbed it. Such was the power of Omnislash. Few had seen it in action, and fewer had lived to tell the tale. Fortunately or unfortunately, Sven was one of them, which meant that his rival could potentially come up with a way to counter it._

Yunero sighed, the memories of his rival were beginning to flood him once more. Still, there was a hope, a foolish one that still remained. But for one like him who had lost everything twice over, hope was nothing more than a foolish notion. After all, there was only one reason why he continued to fight no matter what. Some would call it naive, while others would deem it a noble purpose. He cared not for their opinions. Not when it was all that he had known for his life. Not when it was the only thing left to fight for. He sighed, then paused mid sigh. He had been sighing a lot recently, hadn't he? But perhaps, the more important thing was, why did Carl like to leave him with messes that he had to clean up?

"You can come out now, Blake." He called out, knowing that the stealthiest member of RWBY had been clearly listening to the conversation earlier the entire time. Clearly, there was a reaction as a few seconds later, he heard footsteps from behind him and a question being asked.

"So you could have ended the match with the first technique if you wanted to?"

"I could have attacked your left, or I could have simply cut through your sheath if I wanted to. You are stronger than a lot of the first years here, I'll give you that. But you are not strong enough." Yunero pointed out the different avenues of attack, still looking wistfully at the sun set rather than choosing to face Blake. "Your sheath wouldn't be the toughest thing that I've cut before as well."

"How?" It was a question that Yunero knew that he would have to answer. Blake probably wasn't going to let him go. Considering his options for a second, he decided to go with a cryptic response.

"If you know where exactly to cut, even the weakest of swords can deal the mightiest of blows." Clearly, Blake wasn't satisfied, judging by her tone. But nothing could have probably prepared him for the next question that Blake asked.

"What did Carl mean when he said that you had lost everything twice over and you fight as if victory is a forgone conclusion?"

Yunero sighed, contemplating about Carl''s reasoning behind telling Blake. "Perhaps I'll tell you another time, Blake. But my past does not matter now." He ended it off with a firm tone of finality, making Blake know that he wasn't going to speak more on that topic.

Thankfully, Blake seemed have backed off for now, but Yunero knew that what he had said had simply stirred up Blake's curiousity even further. "I see." Ignoring Blake's response, he sighed once more. He had been sighing a lot recently, hadn't he?

Weiss' POV

"You know, that style of fighting doesn't suit you." Pausing mid strike, Weiss turned to face the source of the voice, wearing a slight scowl on her face as she did so.

"Carl. What are you doing here?"

"I was bored. Your stance doesn't suit you. Your balance is off when you strike and you leave too big of an opening for the enemy to abuse." Carl pointed out, and her scowl turned into a frown. Was he mocking her style?

"So you're saying that it is a bad style?"

"I'm not saying it is a bad style, I'm saying that you should try to fine tune whatever style you're using. Whoever's style you're using, you need to change it slightly to fit you. Or you will die in real combat. Do you think that the Grimm will be merciful enough to not abuse that opening?" His words struck her to the core, as her frown grew deeper. Then she realised one glaring issue that had somehow managed to slip her mind for a second.

"How did you know I was using my sister's style?" Weiss decided to focus on that. For some reason, it felt like Carl had a very keen eye for details, and knew what was going on with a simple glance. Was that how he knew that she was using Winter's style?

"It feels like you're trying to project someone else, when you use that style. I'll tell you this now, you should try to be your own person, rather than follow in the footsteps of another. You are not another person."

"You sound too wise for your age." Weiss saw his mouth moving, but her ears were unable to catch what he had. Carl shrugged, but Weiss couldn't help but feel that there was an underlying meaning behind that.

"Fight me." Weiss blinked owlishly for a second. Did Carl just disregard her previous words, and the fact that he wasn't wearing his gauntlets?

"You are unarmed." She quickly stated, but Carl merely smirked at that, his fists lighting up in a burst of golden fire.

"How did you think I learned to fight in the first place? My gauntlets are simply a conduit for my semblance, nothing more." If she were to be honest, Carl's response sent a shiver down her spine. Like the others, she had witnessed his ability in hand to hand combat and Weiss had a nagging feeling that even the blonde haired brute of her team would come up short when being pitted against the blonde of Team Joker.

"Very well then. Count of three?"

"I'll let you make the first move." How much was Carl underestimating her? Her anger began to flare up as the thoughts from earlier began to accumulate, only serving to fuel her anger even further. Summoning a glyph, she used it to propel her towards Carl, her fingers grasped around Myrtenaster and poised to strike.

"Too slow." Carl called out, as they were barely inches away from each other. How was she slow? She could have sworn that she used a glyph to further enhnace her speed. The answer came a second later, as Carl disappeared from his sight. Then she felt the palm that sent her into the arena wall.

Weiss couldn't help but groan in pain, as she blinked several times, attempting to ease the pain. How did Carl manage to do that? "W-what?" She muttered as she slowly got up, and checked her scroll. "Impossible." Her aura was in the mid to upper yellow, just from a single blow by Carl. One blow. That was all it took to reduce her aura bar by a third? And she thought that her sister had been harsh on her before, and she was a seasoned Huntsman who was a Lieutenant in the Atlas Military. Carl was a monster amongst Huntsmen. Not even her sister had been able to reduce her aura bar by that much during spars with a single hit, yet Carl took almost no effort to do so.

"You set up your own downfall. Had you not come charging at me directly, I wouldn't have been able to use your momentum to my advantage as much. Unlike Yang, my style of fighting is much more than simply brute force." Her down downfall, huh? And what did he mean by using her momentum to his advantage? So many questions, yet Weiss doubted that Carl would give her the answer. Still, she got up again, approaching Carl warily this time round.

 _Next Day, Lunch Break_

Carl's POV

So far, Team JoKer, RWBY and JNPR had managed to settle into a routine. Every morning, they would sit together in the canteen to eat breakfast before heading to class together to avoid a repeat of Team RWBY and JNPR's attendance record on the first day of school. Actually, Carl and Yunero didn't have to do so, but Carl had figured that it would be rude to decline their invitation after all. Fostering bonds with teenagers like these had always certainly proven to be rather... interesting. And after what he had to Weiss last night, it wasn't surprising to see the heiress' haughty attitude subdued for once.

"Snow Angel, are you ok?" Clearly, Weiss was too subdued to even respond to Jaune's nickname for her. Even though the blonde swordsman would be met with a glare of irritation followed by another rejection.

"Give her a while to snap out of it. She's just merely shaken slightly, nothing too much." Carl decided to speak for her. After all, she was still too absorbed to even eat, as she poked at her food with her pancakes.

"Carl, what did you do?"

"Nothing much. We sparred last night and I won." Carl responded casually, eating his breakfast, a simple dish of pancakes that probably would earn the approval of the Valkyrie.

"Two hits." Weiss muttered, but the words were heard by everyone.

"Two hits? What do you mean, Weiss-Cream?" Yang spoke up this time round.

"He managed to get my aura bar down to red with only two hits." This was probably the first full sentence that Weiss had spoken this morning, but the impact of it was still big, all the same. The entire table, except for Yunero turned to face the third blonde on the table, who calmly continued to eat his pancakes.

"How?" It was a question, and one that Carl knew Yang wanted answers.

"My fighting style is not just sheer brute force like yours, Yang. Even though I have that option available." Carl stated, before going back to his pancakes.

"Carl didn't even have his weapon with him. All he had was his semblance." Secretly, Carl relished in the reactions that followed after Weiss' next few sentences. The reaction was always priceless every time, when someone discovered that he could defeat people with nothing but his bare hands and "semblance". It was true though, few would dare to take on an opponent without any weapon and fewer could come out of that situation on top. As expected, Ren was the only one to maintain stoic.

"Impossible. I call hax." Yang declared loudly, slamming her fist onto the table. Carl could understand. After all, she was the only other hand to hand fighter, but Yang was still reliant on her gauntlets to dish out any sort of damage.

"With martial arts, it is possible." Carl stated, pushing his plate away, his hand beginning to draw a symbol of sorts with a random pen that he had. Pens were always useful after all, and it wasn't like pen marks couldn't be cleaned anyways. Plus, he knew that every person from the two teams were probably going to demand answers from him anyways, so he might as well explain it. Plus, his true arsenal would still be a secret, so it didn't matter either way.

"Oh, you mean like Judo and Karate?" Ruby performed several karate chops in the air, but Carl shook his head at that.

"Not quite. Those deviate from the true martial arts and its potential. It's true potential lies in the fact that martial arts are categorized into five different types which gives you a lot of flexibility. But I will focus on two only for now, as those two are the most common."

"What are the types?" It was clear that everyone was beginning to get interested in the conversation, even Ren now as he leaned forward to look at the symbol that Carl had drawn.

"This is the symbol for Hard type martial arts." There were three straight vertical lines, within a single circle. "What this means is that when you fight, you meet a Hard Force with a Hard Force. In this case, it becomes a matter of whoever exerts more Hard Force or which point of the body you strike at. Which is the style that Yang favours despite her not knowing any martial arts. This is much better when you have more opponents." Quickly drawing the second sign, this time he drew three wavy vertical lines within a single circle. "This is Soft type. Typically, when you fight, you redirect a force to your advantage with minimal effort. Essentially, this is very strong against Hard type Martial Arts, as you can conserve stamina while fighting off your opponents with ease. However, this is only ideal if you do not have many enemies to deal with. As a practitioner, I am able to do both, but I used only Soft style moves to win against Weiss yesterday."

"Wow. Didn't know that there could be this much to martial arts." Yang whistled. Thank god he didn't tell her about Yang type martial arts. Carl was sure that she would find a way to torture him and the others with puns.

"Normally people don't. This knowledge is rather rare today, as many huntsmen prefer to fight with their weapons, only relying on their fists as a last resort. Most people also have weapons that are too unconventional to use for martial arts. For example, Ruby has a scythe that morphs into a sniper rifle, and it is part of her fighting style. You yourself have gauntlets, but you also rely on your shotguns as well. A martial art is both rigid and flexible at the same time, but most people cannot overcome that barrier. Therefore people choose to discard martial arts in totality and hence few know true martial arts today." As he paused to catch his breath, Nora asked perhaps the most sensible question that he would probably hear from the Valkyrie.

"So is there any specific style you practice?"

"Yes. I practice Tajiquan, or Taichi fist and Fanzi Quan, or the Tumbling Fist. Those are the main styles that I fight with, and perhaps some of the more complex ones to learn. I also know the Shequan, or Snake boxing and the Zui Quan, or Drunken Fist just to name a few." He decided to name a few, although there were many more that he could use.

What everyone else besides Yunero didn't know was that to learn a martial art, one had to go through countless hours of cultivation and cultivate an Internal Skill, to reinforce themselves internally and learn to channel energy proper at the same time so that the person could pick up a martial art. Of course, there were numerous Internal Skills that one could pick up, but only one could be mastered and cultivated fully to prevent the clash of Qi within the body. Not to mention that you had to cultivate your Meridians along the way as well to facilitate the flow of Qi within their own body. But if one could master it, they could potentially become warriors of great strength that would terrify today's generation of warriors. After all, he had seen what kind of damage a fully cultivated Sacred Flame user could do, and how the Wudang could keep fighting on with the Tai Chi Sword alone. He had only chosen to pick one Internal Skill up, but the time and effort put into cultivating it was worth it in the end. A pity that people started to discover magic once again back in their world, and began discard the tried and tested ways of Qi. People always wanted the easier way out, and hence they chose mana over Qi. Not only that, with no one to pass down the skills to, thus most of the Martial Artists took their skills to the grave. And so came an end to the glorious age of Martial Arts. As for Remnant, Martial Arts still existed, but the practitioners had always been overshadowed by the convenience of Dust. Therefore, it never really took off. Such a pity. Give people what seemed to be an easier option, and they would take it, even when the other has more benefits in the long run.

"But you still don't have any sort of ranged options. Same goes for Yunero, by the looks of it. Won't the two of you be at a disadvantage if there are ranged opponents?" Carl couldn't help but laugh, while Yunero simply chuckled. Once again, their reactions were priceless, and even Ren, the most stoic of the lot, reacted.

"How would you deal with that?" Ren asked, his curiousity clearly ignited.

And for once, it seemed that Yunero was willing to forsake eating his food for talking. "Me and Carl, we are capable of dealing with people like that. Distance doesn't matter much to us. You saw how fast I could move when I was fighting Blake. Carl can close the gap with his martial arts too. In the end, it would not matter even if they had an advantage in range."

"You two are rather strange people. No one would ever brush aside such a glaring issue in their team composition just like that." Yunero shrugged, going back to his food and ignoring Yang's comment.

"And you say that as if everyone else isn't weird." Carl countered swiftly, smirking. After all, it was his victory already. Unfortunately, it seemed that people today lacked the sharp tongue that he had grown used to.

"He's got all of us there. Well played, Carl." Surprisingly, it was Ren who spoke up. Today was just full of surprises, wasn't it? Ren was actively participating in a conversation, Nora asked a normal question and Yunero had chosen to forsake his food to talk, even if it was just for a short while. Well, at least coming to this school didn't seem to be that bad of a choice. Not yet, at least. Now, what to do?

 **A/N: Holy shit patch 7.20 came out and the only words I can say are holy shit what the actual fuck Icefrog.** **So many abilities were reworked, others to a less significant extent than a few others. But one of the changes included Yunero's ultimate** **, and now his Omnislash is based off duration rather than the number of strikes. Somehow, Invoker wasn't touched though, so it doesn't affect this fanfic too much. Thankfully.** **But still, it's like Valve decided to make everyone a newbie again with the entire map changing once again along with so many changes that affect gameplay so much. Lich can now pull enemies towards him, Lion now scales much better late game, Orge can multicast items and Troll Warlord is now literally too angry to** **die. Oh wait, there's also Dazzle who now has a cd reduction along with armour reduction passive.** **Seems good.** **Did I also mention the Spirit Breaker and Dark Seer combo that's literally running over games with how Charge of Darkness was reworked?** **Tbh, this update is actually pretty fun overall, but the only way to win though is to make sure that your team picks the more IMBA heroes. Still, the memes that come out of it are awesome. And the shitposts too.**

 **But yea, I highly doubt I'll be updating this fanfic till mid to late January because I have exams. Jaundice Arc will begin next chapter.**

 **Fyi, I'm basing the martial arts system off this mobile MMORPG called Age of Wushu: Dynasty. There's also a PC version called Age of Wulin. Reason why I chose this is because I believe that Carl would have lived through many different eras, and an era of Wushu wouldn't be too far fetched. In my opinion, it's a pretty damm good mobile game with a rather unique fighting system. I might also base some martial arts off the game too, so yeah. There's actually 5 different types of martial arts in the game. There is Soft, Hard, Yin, Yang and External. Soft and Hard has already been explained in the story. Yin is related to the Earth, dark and cold and typically is more feminine in nature. Yang is the opposite of Yin, and it is associated with Heaven, Light and Warmth. External martial arts refers to martial arts that focus on damaging the external of the both rather than the internal.**

 **Hoped you guys enjoyed this chapter and leave a review if you guys think that there's room for improvement or any requests that you want! Some requests will be considered. Feel free to PM me if you want. Absurd requests are obviously not allowed and dun flame. I am only a amateur at this shit.**

 **On that note, peace out people!**

 **322n**

 **Songs :**

 **Flo Rida - Low ft T-Pain**

 **Lil Wayne - Don't Cry ft XXXTENTACION**

 **Soulja Boy - Crank That**

 **Neon Trees - Animals**


	7. Who can reveal his true strength?

**Responding to Reviews 101**

 **Pink Pidgeon: Yeah, I just decided to start and finish Jaundice Arc here, because I do want to touch on the Forever Fall trip. Tbh, Meepo still requires quite a bit of skill and I ain't spamming him. I still prefer my good ol' Invoker.**

 _Combat Class_

"How did Jaune even end up in Beacon?" Yunero was beginning to question the skill of the Team Leader of JNPR. After all, one with such poor combat skills should have been screened out beforehand, and shouldn't have been able to even get to initiation in the first place. Yet, he had somehow managed to survive intiation, but here he was, getting beaten around by Cardin with little to no effort, whom he had first assumed to the the Team Leader of the weakest team amongst the First Years.

"Jaune Arc's aura is in the red. Cardin Winchester is the winner." Professor Goodwitch sighed, and Yunero could easily guess why. "Class, it's been a few weeks since classes have started. Please refer to your scrolls in the future to keep track in your aura level." Yunero quickly stole a glance at the clock, noticing how there was still roughly fifteen minutes left, which meant that there was going to be either another fight or a quick lecture. As Jaune walked down the stairs, his head dipped in shame, his opponent giving him a shit eating grin. Looking up at the clock, he noted how there was still enough time for another fight. The only question was, who would be called up for another fight? If he remembered correctly, there were a few people left who had yet to be called up to fight for this week, and he happened to be one of the few. Carl hadn't been called up yet either, so it was either Carl or him who would be called up next.

Yunero raised his eyebrow for a second, as he noticed how Professor Goodwitch sighed heavily, as if she didn't want to announce the next matchup. "The last fight of today will be Yunero Jugg against Team RWBY." The reaction was instant, as hushed whispers began to float around, beginning to talk about this was properly going to be against the odds for Yunero. Still, he couldn't help but smile lightly. Finally, the promise of a good fight. He could only hope that Team RWBY could pose some sort of challenge.

However, the outburst from the leader of Team RWBY stopped the whispering. "You can't expect us to fight against Yunero! He's only one person!"

"Miss Rose, as much as I want to agree with you, this matchup was specifically requested by the Headmaster himself during our planning of this class. Now, combatants, please prepare yourselves." That was enough to shut Ruby up, as his four opponents began to prepare for the fight. He quickly felt for his swords on his left side of the waist, unsheathing the first sword to inspect its condition. The first one wasn't the Blackened Edge, that much was clear with the shorter hilt, with a longer orange blade. This was Akakiryu, of a Thousand Faces. It was a sword that could be considered an odachi, due to its length. It was also the sword that was proof of his skills. The other sword however, was still currently the Serrakura, still sheathed. And he wouldn't unsheathe it unless the situation called for it.

Both were still in perfect shape somehow, thankfully. He didn't wear any proper armour, except for bracers to protect his wrists. Really, the most important thing to protect was the wrist, as a swordsman. The wrist was always crucial, especially when it came to sword fighting.

Stepping onto the Arena once more, he watched carefully as Team RWBY stepped onto the stage, analyzing them. Judging by the looks of it, Weiss was going to use dust and the glyphs to back them up along with Ruby with her sniper rounds, while Blake and Yang would probably engage him in melee combat and perform a pincer maneuver. Ruby coulnd't really do melee combat against him, her scythe would only get in the way. Yang would probably be the one that they would assume he would focus, and Blake would be trying to strike at his weak spots from different angles by naking use of her agility while Weiss simply used her dust to make sure that he wasn't going to be able to move as freely. Unfortunately for them, it would take more than that just to bring him down. Unsheathing Akakiryu, he shifted into a different stance from his previous duels, this time holding the sword with his right hand and above his head level, to the right slightly while his left hand was in a more relaxed position, covering his stomach with a gap between his hand and his stomach.

"Do not hold back against me or you will lose."

Yang's POV

The way he stated it, it was with such conviction that she actually shuddered, even if she managed to hide it well. She, Yang Xiao Long, one of the best combatants from Signal Academy, had actually shuddered from a single sentence. How was that even possible? But the way Yunero said it, it was like he was stating it with utter certainty. Like they were really going to lose if they didn't follow his advice. And that stance. She hadn't seen it before, but the way Yunero held himself in that stance was insane. He was so relaxed, given how his legs weren't tense yet, but he looked like he was already ready to strike, just from shifting into stance alone. Blake was right. Yunero was insanely good.

"So, got any plans?" Thankfully, her sister came up with a quick plan, after moments of thinking. For some reason, she felt unsafe engaging without a plan of sorts.

"Yang, you engage him immediately. Try to distract him and make sure he focuses on you. Blake, try to aim for his exposed sides. Weiss, use your glyphs and dust to back them up. Make sure he doesn't get enough space to move. I will use my rifle to help." So she could do her thing at least.

As she readied herself, she still couldn't help but shudder involuntarily, the chilling words from before still hunting her. How did Yunero even manage that? Those questions would have to be put aside for now, as the fight was about to begin.

"The fight will begin in 3."

Her muscles tensed, ready to charge forth.

"2."

Blake unsheated her katana, dual wielding the cleaver portion of Gambol Shroud and her katana.

"1."

Ruby's scythe shifted into its rifle mode, and Myrtenaster's chambers were rotated with a flick of Weiss' hands.

"Begin!" Little that they knew that their plan had already fallen apart, even before the match was started. As the word was called out by Professor Goodwitch, Yang sprung forth with Blake following closely behind, ready to pounce onto the opponent in front of her with a powerful strike. Then she saw Yunero's muscles tense and his posture shifted into a crouch, and he was gone in an instant. The first question that reached her mind was, where? Where did Yunero disappear to? She had expected Yunero to clash with her, after all.

The answer to her question was presented later, as she heard the all too familiar clash of steel against steel. Turning around, she spotted the swordsman clashing against Ruby, having been forced to shift back Crescent Rose into the Scythe form while Weiss was forced to retreat to avoid being cut by Ruby on accident. As much as Yang wanted to assist her little sister, she couldn't risk getting cut by Ruby's scythe on accident. "Weiss, Blake. Can you two try to make him disengage with your rounds?" Nodding their heads, Blake quickly shifted her katana into its pistol form before firing a few rounds, while the heiress immediately spun her weapon's chamber once more, her red dust attacks flying out and landing around Yunero and not hitting Ruby.

Thankfully, it worked as Yunero leapt back a few steps. Time for her to shine. "You're not getting away that easily!" She yelled, a fist raised, ready to pummel down the swordsman. Then, he did something that she would have never thought possible. He redirected himself, by winding up his legs and then pushing them. He actually kicked off the air to redirect himself. The results of it were clear, as Yunero managed stop himself from ascending further, instead descending too fast for Yang, causing her to hit air only. How was that even possible? The amount of leg strength needed to do that kind of thing, it was something that she admittedly didn't have. Good thing was, she was descending from the air at least, but would she be fast enough?

The answer came soon enough, as Yunero once again dashed forth, this time aiming for Weiss. Weiss managed to bring up her rapier to deflect the first attack in time, but Yang could clearly see the surprise etched on the heiress' face. Granted, any normal person would be surprised just at how fast Yunero was moving around. Weiss parried a second blow from Yunero, then went in with a thrust. Her eyes widened when Yunero's free hand crept towards the hilt of his second blade that sat in his other shea- Wait, he had a second blade? How had they not noticed this before? "Weiss! Back!" She yelled, fervently hoping that the heiress would heed her words as Yang herself performed a punch, aiming for his back.

It should have hit. Even if Weiss' thrust had failed after being unable to pull back in time, her punch should have landed at least. With a reverse hand grip, Yunero parried Weiss' thrust with the Serrakura, while his first sword blocked her punch from behind. It did shake a bit, ringing from the blow but other than that, the odachi stayed still, not budging in the slightest. How? She noticed her other two team members taking the chance to attack Yunero, with the Blake using katana part of Gambol Shroud while Ruby had shifted Crescent Rose back to its rifle form, her trigger finger about to pull the trigger. Even if it took significantly more effort than she thought would be needed, they still won. There was no way that Yunero could defend or evade against a few rounds of Ruby's .50 BMG cal bullets and several slashes from Gambol Shroud.

For the third time today, she was proven wrong again, as Yunero used his legs. He performed a round low sweep with his legs, ducking low and forcing Ruby to cancel her shot at the last moment to prevent the risk of hurting Blake, and Blake's slash connected with nothing but the air. The low sweep did not catch her who was able to leap away in time, but caught the heiress off guard and knocked her down. But just as the Schnee fell down, Yunero dashed towards her, swapping the Serrakura's grip from a reverse grip to a normal one handed grip and performed an X attack with his two swords. Then she heard the announcement. "Weiss Schnee is out by Aura Deleption." Impossible. Ice Queen was out just by two strikes?

"And then, there were three."

"I don't believe it. His swords are that powerful?" Ruby muttered, having reached a conclusion quickly, clearly shocked by the outcome as well. Meanwhile, Yunero stood calmly, beside the downed form of Weiss Schnee, tossing the Serrakura into the air with a spin in it before jamming it back into his sheath and shifting back into the stance that he had assumed at the start of the fight. Her jaw would have dropped, if it wasn't for the fact that she was still in combat. Yunero had actually managed to pull that off without injuring himself. It was also a miracle that the sheath hadn't been damaged after that little display.

"I told you four. Come at me with everything you've got, or you will lose."

Blake's POV

Admittedly, this battle was not turning how she expected it to be. How was Yunero managing to outmaneuver the 4 of them? They had her, one of the fastest year one on the team, one of the best Dust Specialists in the first year, a leader who was capable of making crazy but workable plans, and her partner, a powerhouse. So how is it that they were being outmaneuvered like that? They were now down with the person on their team who was no doubt the most precise. Thankfully, Weiss was being moved out of the arena by Professor Goodwitch's semblance, so they wouldn't have to worry too much. But still, for him to eliminate Weiss like that with nothing but two strikes... she had been wrong. He wasn't insanely good. He was a monster. By Oum, what kind of monster was he?

"So what's the plan, Ruby?"

"I..I.." Her stuttering made things clear to the fanus. Clearly, her team leader had not foreseen this, and was unable to come up with a proper plan. None of them had foreseen this, probably.

Her stuttering was interrupted, as Blake's body parried Yunero's sudden blow on reflex. "The enemy is not going to relent it's assault. There is no time to pause." Her eyes flickered towards his hands and his sword as she tried to read his movements. Yet, it was an impossible feat. All she could really do was to attempt to match him blow for blow, making use of her aura to create explosive attacks and whittle away at his aura bar, as he continously performed attacks with his odachi like it was nothing, while easily evading the punches thrown by Yang. Yunero was impossible to read. His movements were too erratic, and his momentum was unstoppable. Almost like a juggernaut. Ruby was unable to help out, with no clear opening to perform a shot with her sniper rifle.

Her partner tried for another punch, but Yunero managed to somehow get back, breaking away from the engagement. "You should have went all out. Now it's time to pay the price."

Nothing could have really prepared Blake for what happened next. _"Blade Dance, Secret Technique: Sukaisupuritta."_ Her sensitive ears picked up on what he was whispering, but it didn't make sense. Yunero performed a diagonal slash with his sword, then he was gone, leaving nothing but an after image behind. How fast was he, to be able to leave a mirror image like that? Then the pain came. 4 times she was struck, and she had a sickening feeling that the others had been struck the same number of times as well by that technique. To the spectators, it would appear as if Yunero had slashed dashed towards and stopped at four different points, quickly performing a slash while leaving an after image at each position he stopped at.

His words almost terrified her, and it only served to confirm the fact that the others had been hit as well. "And then, there were none." The worst part was, the words didn't come from in front of her. There wasn't anyone in front of her anymore, only a slash mark on the ground resembling a semicircle to indicate that Yunero had been there once and had managed to rout them. The words came from behind.

"Ruby Rose, Blake Belladonna and Yang Xiao Long are out by Aura Deleption. Yunero Jugg wins." With that announcement, she decided on one thing. She needed answers. Answers to how Yunero was this good. No person could be this good, even by fighting Grimm.

 _Lunch_

Clearly, the loss in combat class had dampened the mood of RWBY, as evidenced by the fact that none of them were actually eating or talking as they usually would, but were poking at their food instead. Blake sighed. Just how had Yunero managed to defeat them, and not even look winded in the slightest? It was frustrating, not knowing the answer. Thankfully, even Nora had managed to read the mood, and she was currently stuffing her mouth with food rather than try to regal everyone with her "tales". Her partner was unfortunately nowhere to be seen, perhaps because of the crushing defeat that they had suffered.

Still, thinking on the subject wasn't going to make things better. After all, a loss was still a loss and they had no choice to accept the fact that they been beaten a person of their age. All they could really do was learn from it and grow, nothing more. Good thing the cafeteria had tuna today, and she had somehow worked up an appetite from combat class. Performing those aura explosive parries had only served to make her hungrier after all.

"Ruby. Weiss. Blake. Do you want to know what went wrong?" Her ears perked up, hearing Yunero's offer. Clearly, the offer was too appealing to decline, as Ruby instantly nodded her head and she found herself inclined to agree with her leader. After all, she had come to this school to learn, and learn would be what she would do, even if she was going to learn from a fellow student.

"Why tell us?" Weiss called out, her tone more icy than usual. If Blake had to guess, she was still upset about being taken out of the fight just like that, without any warning.

"It's simple. We are here to learn from our mistakes, not just to learn how to fight."

"Go on, then." The reasoning seemed to have appeased the Heiress for now,given her change in attitude.

"Before the match even began, I already predicted how the four of you were going to try and fight me. You all assumed that I would focus on Yang first, so you wanted Blake to catch me off guard. Weiss would be using her dust attacks to limit my movement, and Ruby would be backing you up with her rifle. Am I right?" Her throat tightened. How had Yunero managed to predict that? And by the sound of it, he had predicted it, even before Ruby had come up with a plan.

"How?"

"It's easy to see based on your team composition. Yang excels in melee to mid range combat and can continously fight on, while Blake is one of the faster first years, which means that you would use her to try and catch me off guard. Weiss is a Dust Specialist, so her attacks can land while not getting in the way of her teammates. Ruby has no choice but to use her rifle to back you up because her scythe would only get in the way." Wow. Yunero had actually just read them like an open book, and he said it was easy. He was indeed, a terrifying monster.

"That's why you went for Ruby first, right? To force us away." Blake realized. Yunero forced Ruby to use her scythe so that they couldn't immediately engage him.

"Yes. I managed to do two things by engaging Ruby. I created space between me and the rest of you, while I also threw your plans into disarray. You, Weiss and Yang may have reacted well, but they overlooked a few things."

"You had two swords. We didn't expect you to be able to dual wield an Odachi and a Katana at the same time. You also used your feet to catch Yang and Weiss off guard while dodging." Blake admitted. Dual wielding was something that she was used to, but to see it on a whole another level was certainly an eye opener. She already had enough trouble dual wielding her cleaver and katana, and to think that one could even dual wield an odachi and a katana at the same time.

Thing was, dual wielding was not as easy as games made them out to be, because of the hand to eye coordination required to constantly act, otherwise you would be not using it to its fullest potential. Dual wielding was hard, and the bigger the difference in length and weight of the weapons used to dual wield, the harder it became since you had to commit to memory how far both weapons could reach and how much force was needed. It was also made even harder by the fact that you always had a dominant and non-dominant hand, which meant that you had to understand the limits of each hand and which weapon would fit which hand. Granted, the cleaver portion of Gambol Shroud was heavier than the katana part, but Yunero took it to the next level. Yunero had used his katana in both a reverse grip AND a normal grip, showing his flexibility with swords.

"Very good, Blake. Because of that, I was not only able to catch you four off guard, but it also opened up a window of opportunity for me to eliminate Weiss. The reason why I went for Weiss is because she can potentially counter my attacks should her dust attacks land." Wait, what? Apparently, the whole table was confused as well. Weiss was Yunero's counter? Clearly, even the Heiress did not expect the words, judging by her frozen body language. Finally, Weiss relaxed before asking Yunero her question.

"How did you manage to eliminate me in two strikes?"

"Skill and practice. It's not about the quality of the swords, but also the way you use it. By making use of the Serrakura's serrated edge, which is perfect for cutting, along with the Akakiryu and your inability to take heavy blows, I managed to perform the most efficient attack that would both allow me to eliminate you and disengage afterwards." Blake had to appreciate how Yunero knew so much of his swords, to the point where he knew how to use it intuitively in the best way possible in the heat of combat.

"What was that technique you performed at the end? You managed to somehow move so fast that you left behind afterimages." She decided to ask another question that had been burning in her mind. After all, how could she not ask about that technique? Something about that technique made it stand out even more than the normal techniques that he used in class, and that was saying a lot considered how even his normal techniques had managed to awe her.

"Sukaisupuritta is a technique my sensei developed after the strongest technique of the Blade Dance. Few know of its true potential and I want to keep it that way." She got an answer, although it was not as detailed as she would have liked it to be. And judging by the way he said Blade Dance, she assumed it was the name for the full set of techniques Yunero had. Honestly, it was quite fitting despite its simple name. Even though the techniques were aggressive, each movement that Yunero had performed hadn't been wasted, each step he took had a purpose and each slash he performed was perfect. Each technique was like a step, like steps in a dance. How fitting.

"But didn't you already show it to everyone? And what does that Sukai thingy even mean?" Somehow, Yunero managed to not even look miffed in the slightest, even after Ruby's two rapid fire questions. If it ever came down to it, Yunero could probably beat everyone with ease in a battle of composure.

"They have no idea what the technique is truly capable of. To most, it only looks like I performed four slashes at different spots. People will assume it is simply aura manipulation which is a half truth, since I incorporated my aura into the attack."

"But you didn't even have your aura until after initiation!" It was a fact that was well known amongst Team RWBY, JNPR and JK. Carl had unlocked the swordsman's aura after initiation, and even Yunero had admitted to it already. So how did someone manage to figure out how to use their aura so fast?

"It is nothing more than the fruits of discipline. As for what Sukaisupuritta means, it means Sky Splitter in Ancient Mistralian." Again, she received nothing more than a vague answer. At least, it was a start.

"What do you mean by-" Whatever question Yang was going to ask was interrupted by a loud laughter, and her gaze quickly found the source of it. The scene that she found herself staring at made her blood boil. CDRL was bullying a fanus student, clearly by the looks of it.

It seemed that even at a prestigious school like Beacon, racism was still a thing. Cardin Winchester then pulled the ears of the poor rabbit fanus that they were bullying, and it was clear that it was painful with the pained expression that the student wore. She would love to act and show Cardin Winchester his place, but she didn't want to risk revealing her identity. Especially when the Schnee Heiress was on her team. "They're real! I told you they were real!" The more Cardin and his team continued to laugh, the more she wanted to act. But she wouldn't have to.

"What a freak!"

Thunk! A knife found itself in the wood just right next to Cardin Winchester's free hand.

Yunero's POV

Maybe he was wrong to do it, but throwing the knife in his hand had been the most logical action to him, even if he'd made sure that it did not hit Cardin at all. Silently, he thanked a certain assassin for giving him the idea of learning how to throw knifes properly. It didn't matter to him anyway. After all, they had disrespected people. Even if they were fanus, they were still people. They were still individuals with a mind and soul.

 ** _"You know, for a half breed, you're pretty good yourself." He managed, gasping for breath. It had been far too long since he had been wounded like this by a fellow swordsman. Clearly, his opponent was experiencing the same thing. He made eye contact with his opponent and an accord was made in that instant. Both of them dropped their swords._**

 ** _"I'll take that as a compliment. My name's Sven. What's yours?" A blood stained hand was extended to him. A hand that was stained with his blood._**

 ** _"Yunero." He grasped the extended hand, his hand having blood stains of his opponent on it too. Under the mask, he smiled. He might have just found a worthy rival. Suddenly, it seemed as if his pilgrimage would not look so lonely anymore._**

Getting off his seat, Yunero began a slow but noticeable pace towards Team Cardinal. He would not stand for this. He could not stand for this. If he watched, he would be spitting on his rival and his legacy. His reputation would mean nothing. And if there was one thing he didn't want to do, it was disrespecting a rival. Especially one as worthy as Sven. "Cardin Winchester. Next time, it won't miss." He greeted, his voice low but ominous.

"What do you think you can do to me? It's nothing more than an empty threat!" So he fancied himself someone who could lord over everyone else? Fine by him. It was a well known fact that Winchester happened to be from some important family that he didn't really care about. Politics had never been his thing anyway. That was what had saved his life in the first place after all.

"It wasn't a threat. It was a promise. One that I intend to fulfill." His voice remained unwavering, as he continued to stare into the eyes of the bully.

"Like you can do it! Come and do it, I dare you!" Cardin Winchester's hand began to reach out towards the fanus' head, clearly intent on grabbing her ears once more. No more.

Grabbing Cardin's hand, he twisted it. Hard. In actual reality, Cardin deserved much worse than this. This was only letting him off light. A sickening crunch was heard, as the entire canteen went silent at that sound. He didn't care. It wasn't much anyway, simply a broken wrist. Nothing more. As he released it, he left one final insult to the team. He pushed Cardin over the table, causing him to flip over and land on one of the chairs. Cardin was weak anyway. To think that he didn't have to use that much of his strength. Probably only 10% at best. Then again, people here relied far too much on their aura to protect and give them strength instead of continously training their body non-stop. If it had been Sven, his hand would no longer be connected to his body anymore.

"Ow! My wrist! You fucking broke it!" Cardin yelled, groaning in pain as one of his teammates helped him up, his right hand hanging uselessly. Good.

"I told you, Cardin Winchester. It was a promise. And I tend to keep my promises."

 _Headmaster's Office_

Ozpin's POV

"Yunero Jugg. Do you realise what you've done?" Glydna's sharp voice cut through his train of thoughts, and Ozpin couldn't help but be slightly impressed that the student didn't even flinch or react in the slightest. Yunero Jugg was undoubtedly a student of immense potential, much like Ruby Rose and Jaune Arc. The only difference was, Yunero Jugg had managed to tap into that well of potential as clearly evidenced by his fight against Team RWBY today.

"I defended a fellow student from bullying."

"You broke a fellow Hunter in training's wrist. Now he cannot lift even his weapon properly for the next few weeks." Glynda corrected.

"I was under the impression that bullying wasn't tolerated here in Beacon." It was strange how calm Yunero was, given how Glynda was almost always able to break students with simply a few words. It was as if Glynda had no effect on him. Well, this was new. It was almost as if Yunero had been in this situation before.

Deciding that the time to intervene was now, he held up a hand. "Relax, Glynda. Yunero Jugg, you are right. Bullying is not tolerated here. Unfortunately, we cannot keep track of every single incident going around school. Yunero. I know that you had good intentions, but it still does not change the fact that you injured a fellow student in training."

"I understand, Headmaster."

"However, I will still have to give a punishment. Yunero Jugg, as punishment for breaking a student's wrist, you will have a week's worth of detention with Professor Goodwitch, starting from tomorrow. You may leave now."

"Noted." Nodding his head, Yunero got up from the seat. However, something about Yunero's tone made him feel that the student had probably not taken his punishment to heart, like he didn't care. Given how he was from outside the Kingdoms with nothing much to his name other than his personal belongings, it was safe to say that he didn't really care about the consequences. After all, people outside the walls lived by a single and simple rule. The strong lived, while the weak died. As simple as that. Consequences like this would have been considered major to those that lived a more sheltered life, but it was nothing to those who lived and died by the rule of strength.

"One more thing, Yunero. I hope this performance doesn't repeat itself again, Yunero. While we try to prevent such things from happening, we still can't be everywhere at once. Even so, it does not give you the right to injure other students, is that clear?"

"Of course, Headmaster." For some reason, Ozpin could almost hear the smirk, like the swordsman didn't care at all. He probably didn't. As soon as Yunero left, Glynda turned to him.

"Are you sure if it was wise to leave him be?" Clearly, Glynda was beginning to have her doubts. Then again, who wouldn't'? He'd made a few decisions that most in his position would call reckless.

"It wouldn't have mattered to him, even if we expelled him. Plus, Yunero's just like Ruby Rose and Jaune Arc. Young yet full of potential. It is better to keep him than to expel him over something he doesn't care. Yunero seems to be motivated to act if something goes against against his moral code only." Ozpin decided to point out the things that he'd seen in Yunero. Yunero might be young, but his eyes held a weariness that was only found in people who've fought for their entire life. People who could not afford the luxury of rest.

"You play a dangerous game here, Ozpin! Sure, Yunero may be able to take on Team RWBY had on and win, but what about Ruby Rose! She's only 15, for Oum's sake! And you intend to send her to the battlefield already? And what about Jaune Arc? His combat skills are subpar, and you expect his leadership skills to pull him through? Forgive me for having my doubts, Ozpin, but I don't see why you are taking such risks! Yunero doesn't even have a background, yet you took the risk by accepting him! At least Blake Belladonna and Carl Karus had something!" Glynda began to rant, letting out all she wanted to say within a single breath without missing a single word.

"I understand your concerns, Glynda. But we need to do something after all, even if it seems dangerous. We can't rest easy after Qrow's message." Ozpin glanced at his second scroll, fiddling with it after receiving the message from Qrow. The words were simple, but they meant a lot of things.

"Queen has pawns and allies." The word pawns were worrying enough. But allies? Honestly, that sent a shudder down his spine. Who could be possibly so powerful that the Queen would consider the person as an ally and not a pawn? After all, she did respect strength too.

"Maybe, but you still took risks! And Ironwood has a secret project that he claims might help turn the tide but refuses to tell us what exactly it is!" Ozpin frowned at that. It was true. Ironwood had told them that he had a project that was ongoing, saying that if it succeeded, it would give them the edge needed. At this point, Ozpin would typically be relieved and dare he say it, elated at such at a prospect. However, there was no further details given out. Nothing on what it was, and why it would help them.

"Indeed. I only wish that Ironwood would not keep us from the dark, but I can only hope that he has legitimate reasons for him to do so."

At the same time, Yunero chose to head to the training room rather than the rooftop. Had he chose to not divert from his normal routine from today, he would have perhaps been able to save Jaune from what would perhaps be Jaune's worst week at Beacon, a week before the trip to Forever Fall. Then again, it was perhaps better for Jaune to weather this storm on his own. After all, no one could really help him but himself. Carl couldn't help but smirk as he left the rooftop through his own means, ignoring the fact that Jaune was still facing Cardin. After all, it would depend on Jaune himself to see if he could pass this trial. If he passed, he would definitely improve by leaps and bounds over the next few years. If not... Let's just say that Jaune couldn't afford to fail or his one shot at being a Hunter would be gone.


	8. A Duo of Terrifying People

**3.10PM, 28/1/19 - Edited some minor mistakes**

Carl's POV

Forever Fall was beautiful. That he couldn't lie about. It was still one of the more beautiful scenery that he had seen in his long lifetime, but none of those places could compare to his home world, where caretakers of the land roamed about and maintained the unblemished lands. Unlike his home world, this place did not have the likes of Enchantress or other caretakers of the forest to help maintain the forest, and a sense of mystery and danger still radiated from the forest as a result, which was to be expected since it was said that Grimm was aplenty in this forest. Carl couldn't help but muse, as he felt the wind blow through his hair. It was certainly a good day to be here.

"Yes, students, the forest of Forever Fall is indeed beautiful. But we are not here to sight see. Professor Peach has asked you all to collect samples from the trees deep inside this forest, and I'm here to make sure that none of you all die while doing so." Die? Quite unlikely. It would take at least several Magus level opponents to even think about attempting to subdue him, much less kill him. Except for a certain Grand Magus. Still, Professor Goodwitch did speak truth for most of the students. Beside him, Yunero silently fiddled with the hilt of the Blackened Edge, obviously bored. After all, they were only here for a menial task, and not to fight. "Each of you is to gather one jar's worth of red sap. However, this forest is full of Grimm, so be sure to stay by your teammates. We will rendezvous back here by 4."

"Come on, Jauney boy! Let's go!" It wasn't really a secret that Cardin had used his parent's connections to find a healer who managed to heal his wrist within four days. In fact, it was almost as if Cardin was flexing his newly healed wrist, the way he swung around his arm carelessly. As Jaune marched off with his head down with CDRL, he heard a sigh coming from the Mistral Champion.

"You do realise that it's something that he'll have to get out of by himself, right?" As soon as Team RWBY walked ahead of them, he decided to speak up for once, knowing that Yunero had walked ahead of them. No matter, it would be simple enough to catch up with him.

"What do you mean?" Pyrrha's tone held an underlying aggression as both Nora and Ren walked behind them, that which he could understand. It was to be expected, since he'd worded it so bluntly.

"He's going to have to go through this trial on his own. It's not something that anybody can help him. He either passes this trial or fails on his own. It's as simple as that." Carl emphasized his point.

"What do you mean?! Jaune's my teammate and partner! How can I let him face this alone?" Carl sighed. Clearly, the girl was too clouded by her own judgement to even care. It was clear that Pyrrha Nikos was enamoured with the blonde boy, to the point where it was as if she was a mother taking care of her kid. Except that Pyrrha clearly had a romantic interest in Jaune Arc.

"And that's where you're wrong. Jaune needs to understand it by himself. Think of it as him going through a phase of life. He either learns to stand up on his own or he will never get up. I know that you are concerned for your partner, but you can't be there for every step of his life. Let him grow on his own." He sighed. If Pyrrha didn't listen to this, then there was really nothing he could do. Quickenimg his pace, he had caught up with Yunero, who'd stopped to wait for him.

"It's not like you to give them advice." Yunero noted.

"I want to see what Jaune Arc really can do. He's weak, sure. But whether he can use that potential of his is up to him." Carl explained. After all, it would be a pity to see Jaune's potential go to waste. Things like this were what made having such a long life fun and he didn't want to lose another source of amusement so soon.

Jaune's POV

"I might be getting allergic to this stuff..." Against his will, Jaune had been forced to gather the red sap for Team CDRL, making the total number of jars of red sap he had to get a whooping six, for some reason unknown to him. Red sap was hard to harvest, since you had to tap a very specific spot to be able to get the sap. It took Jaune forever, but he'd finally managed to jar up six jars.

"Great work, Jauney boy! That wasn't too hard, was it?" Jaune could only nod dumbly, as he stood up, sealing the last jar. "Now you might be thinking, why did my buddy Cardin ask me to collect six jars of tree sap when there's only five of us? He could only nod once more, as he slowly got up from the forest floor. "Now, come and follow me."

A few minutes later, Cardin help up his hand and he instinctively stopped at that. He quickly took in the sight in front of Cardin. Yunero, Carl, Pyrrha, Ren and Nora were all tapping the tree sap, with Yunero somehow having two jars by the side as he continued to fill a third one. "C-Cardin, what's goin on?" He managed to stutter out, not alerting the others somehow of their presence. Russell quickly grabbed his shoulder, a sign to let him know that there was no escaping what he was about to do.

"Payback. That Yunero fucker broke my wrist." Cardin responded darkly, a wicked smile on his face as he pulled out a box which emitted buzzing sounds, labelled with the letter W. Wait, wasn't that the box of rapier wasps that he'd managed to gather last night? "I want to see how he deals with being stung by an entire nest of rapier wasps all over his body. Let's see if the pain can compare to a broken wrist. And you, my buddy are going to do the deed."

"Do what?" He'd fervently prayed that he had heard Cardin wrongly. After all, Jaune didn't really want to do that to Yunero. Yunero was the first person who didn't exactly tease him away, and even helped him survive the day before initiation. He was also someone who accepted Jaune's weakness, and didn't seem to be affected by the fact that he was perhaps the weakest person in the entire first year cohort.

"I said, you are going to throw the jar at Yunero. Either you do that, or I'll make sure that I have a nice chat with the Headmaster and you'll be out of Beacon by tomorrow morning." Cardin almost growled at him, and he was admittedly scared shitless as the jar of red sap was thrust onto his hands. Steeling himself, he tried to aim at Yunero, his arm slung back while it shook visibly. "Well? What's it gonna be?"

As he tried to aim again, something within him broke. He couldn't do it. He couldn't really do that the first person who hadn't driven him away and even helped a complete stranger at that time. He was a coward. He couldn't do this just to save his dream of becoming a hunter. He was a fucking coward, and he was proud of it. In that moment, he made up his mind. "No."

"What did you just say?" Cardin's voice was threatening, almost as if it had raised by an octave. Clearly, he had never been said no in his entire life.

"I said, NO!" With all his courage, he turned around, hurling the jar towards Cardin. It clearly did no damage, but the jar shattered and sap spilled all over his breastplate. He sighed, mentally prepared for the consequences for his actions. Well, at least his time here at Beacon was good while it lasted. It seemed like his dream was over already.

"Oh, you've done it now, Jauney boy." Cardin chuckled darkly, as Dove and Sky grabbed his shoulders. He was dead, wasn't he?

"It seems like an order for four broken wrists has just been placed."

Carl's POV

"Carl?" Jaune was the first to react, by calling out his name. He strode forward, Yunero beside him. "How did you know we were here?"

"We heard you five. Did you really think that you were speaking that softly, CDRL?" Yunero called out, his voice low but sharp, as if it were a blade. Then again, such was to be expected from swordsman who spent decades and eons perfecting his craft.

"You fucking broke my wrist, and I still haven't paid you back for it."

"And you rightfully deserved it. This time, however..." Carl responded, as Yunero unsheathed his blade, and he himself shifted into a more relaxed but battle ready stance, assuming the first form of the Tai Chi fist. It was only natural for the entirety of CDRL to suddenly feel a substantial amount of fear, as they recalled how Yunero was able to defeat Team RWBY with ease, while Carl's true fighting strength was still an unknown. All they really knew was that they weren't going to be able to hold against them, if it ever came down to it. Then Yunero began to performed a vertical slash while his leg muscles tensed.

"You'll be let off. Until we finish the Grimm off, that is." Yunero finished, as he appeared behind Cardin, cutting down an Ursa Major which had tried to sneak up behind Cardin Winchester to maul him to death before sheathing the Blackened Edge. "I must say, thank you for using the sap to attract the Grimm as well. It's been a while since I got to fight without limitations."

"Ahhh! Grimm!" Dove, Sky and Russell all ran away, leaving only Jaune, Cardin, Yunero and Carl behind. But it didn't matter. Cardin stayed still, still trembling as he tried to process what had just happened. After all, it wasn't everyday that something like this happened. Jaune however, unsheathed Crocea Mors and his sheath quickly transformed into a shield, dashing in front of Cardin to help defend against the Ursa horde that was about to come. After, it was common knowledge that Ursai did not travel alone.

"Do not move, Cardin. Or the Grimm in the forest will go crazy trying to get to you. Red sap attracts Grimm, not just rapier wasps." Cardin fearfully nodded, staying in his spot, just as Ruby, Weiss and Pyrrha burst into the clearing, weapons at the ready.

"What's going on?"

"Grimm horde. Cardin fucked up and now the red sap is drawing every Grimm within a 100 meter radius towards us. We need to just hold out until the effects dissipate. It shouldn't take more than ten minutes."

"How is that possible?" It was Cardin who spoke, who was still scared. Carl sighed. Of course the one with all bark would have no bite. So much for being a hunter in training when he looked to be ready to shit his pants at the thought of encountering real Grimm. Clearly, Cardin had been sheltered for his entire life and had never been placed in such a situation before. He didn't even do his proper research on red sap, and how certain weather conditions could affect it. Rapier wasps were the least of their problems.

"Red sap is one of the sweetest substances, and its scent is being carried by the wind. No doubt we're going to have to fight for a while." Carl decided to grace him with an answer. If it wasn't for the fact that the wind was blowing, it wouldn't be such a problem. But still, it was still manageable. Him and Yunero could fight with lessened limitations.

"Here they come! Pack of Beowolves!" Jaune called out, but Yunero had already began to move.

" _ **Saisho no Suteppu: Furasshu Ryuu.**_ " Performing an Iaido like slash, Yunero met the pack head-on, before passing through them as if they were intangible. It took a second for everyone, even the beowolves to process what had happened. Yunero ended up behind the Beowolves, before a single slash mark appeared on each of the Grimm, even the Alpha that had been leading them. A second later, they began to dissolve into nothingness.

"What the..." Ruby was perhaps the most vocal of the lot, yet she failed to find a word to complete her sentence.

"Don't take away all the fun, Yunero. _**Alacrity.**_ " As Carl's gauntlets ignited, he shifted into a different stance. It was time to be flashy for a change. After all, it had been far too long since he'd been even able to unleash even a tiny fraction of his true power.

"Go ahead then." Yunero grinned surprisingly, but he didn't let it surprise him too badly as he began to move just as several Ursai came charging forth, clearly enthralled by the red sap.

Rather than performing a fancy technique like Yunero did, he simply punched the first Ursa unfortunate enough to be closest to him. The punch caused a reaction, as the Ursa's momentum halted, then it flew back like a rag doll, flying into a few other of its kind. " _ **Sen-Ki Fist: Earth Shattering Fist**_." Carl declared, before leaping up, aiming his fist at the area just in front of the pack of Ursa that were still advancing. Then he flew down, fist first.

Ruby's POV

She felt it. The impact of Carl's fist hitting the dirt. It felt as if the ground had rippled ever so slightly when he did that. It shouldn't have been detectable, given the distance between them. Yet, she could somehow feel that the ground had rippled. Then several miniature fissures began to form from his fist, spreading towards the rest of the Grimm. As the fissures spread, nothing happened. Was that it? A few seconds later, she heard Carl whisper something. "Explode."

Fire shot out from the fissures, roasting any unfortunate Grimm that happened to be on top of those fissures. Wow. She didn't know that Carl was capable of that. It had to be either through fire dust or his semblance that this happened, although the former seemed unlikely due to how Carl had already said that he wasn't a dust based fighter. She heard herself swallow visibly. Was this the true strength of Team JK? One could cut through several Grimm with a single strike, while the other displayed an insane aptitude for his usage of his semblance, which might be more powerful than Yang's. Yang's required her to be hit first, but Carl could seemingly manipulate fire without any problem. But if so, how did Alacrity come about? Fire was meant to be destructive, after all. It was amazing how that technique did not cause a forest fire. She would have to ask Carl later. The two people in front of her were no ordinary hunters in training. They were people who were way out of her league.

"Ruby, behind you!" Instinctively, she reacted by quickly morphing Crescent Rose into its scythe mode, before performing a wide swing as she spun around, cutting down the Beowolf that had tried to pounce on her.

"Thanks, Weiss!" Weiss was too busy engaged in battle, having engaged in battle with a few more Beowolves. Where were the Grimm coming from? A few more beowolves surrounded her, causing her to clutch her scythe tightly as she braced herself. Not too far from them, Cardin was still unable to even draw his weapon, while Jaune and Pyrrha were fighting back to back, trying to combat several Ursai. Meanwhile, Yunero and Carl were engaging more Grimm, intercepting those that were going for Cardin and the rest of them. Were the effects of the red sap really this potent? She couldn't help but think as she began to swing her scythe once more.

Blake's POV

"Professor Goodwitch!" Somehow, the trio from CDRL had been faster than her. Then again, fear was quite the motivator.

"What's wrong, Team CDRL? And where's your leader? I thought I told you all to stay together?"

"They ran away from some Grimm that got Cardin and Jaune. Ruby, Weiss and Pyrrha are going to help them." Finally, Blake managed to catch up, along with Yang who was beside her.

"I can't believe you ran away from a single Ursa." Her partner sneered. She would have smiled at that, but the stern gaze of Professor Goodwitch made her think twice about doing so, even if the gaze wasn't directed at her. Blake couldn't help but pity them. After all, said Professor was notorious for dishing out harsh punishments.

"Enough, Yang Xiao Long. We will go and see if the few of them are alright." As Professor Goodwitch walked towards the direction that they came from, she followed, while Yang and DRL followed behind them, heads bowed in shame. However, something told her that they didn't have the luxury to walk at such a pace. The loud roar that resounded a second later, forcing her cover her ears seemed to only agree with her.

Yunero's POV

"I didn't think it was possible. Some red sap actually managed to help draw a Hydra, of all things. I didn't even think that those things still existed here. Then again, Grimm stampeding would probably draw others here." Yunero muttered, upon hearing the defeaning roar that threatened to burst the eardrums of Jaune, Pyrrha, Ruby, Weiss and Cardin. Only he and Carl were immune to it, because of their experience with other beings that could roar even louder than the Hydra. A dragon's roar knew no equal, after all. Flicking the Blackened Edge before sheathing it, he turned to face Jaune. Surprisingly, he wasn't as intimidated as the rest by the roar alone. Perhaps Carl was right. Jaune had potential.

"What was that?"

"Hydra. A near extinct Grimm. If I had to guess, this one would have to be quite old."

"What? We can't fight it!" Weiss cried, clearly daunted by the idea of having to fight such a foe. Any normal person would be. Even a veteran might find himself doubting his chances to take it down. But Carl and him weren't just veterans. They were beings who'd fought against beings beyond their comprehension, and still lived to tell the tale.

"We have to. We cannot hope to outrun the Hydra, not when it's that close. Maybe Carl and I could, but the rest of you wouldn't be able to take even five steps before it catches you."

"What do yo-"

"Carl!"

"On it! **Alacrity!** " Leaping towards Weiss and Ruby, he quickly picked the two of them up with both hands, before leaping away, just in time as a head smashed into the clearing through a bunch of trees, aimed at the spot where Ruby and Weiss once were. The head was black, with a bone white mask, a long black neck with red markings decorated across the long neck. Another head for the spot where Carl, Jaune and Pyrrha were, but Carl managed to deflect the head away by redirecting it, causing it to retreat. Clearly, those two heads had been used to scope out the opposition.

"That was what I meant, Weiss." Yunero decided to take this small window to quickly put Weiss and Ruby down, the two of them clearly still blushing furiously even though he had just saved their lives.

"I see. But what can we do?"

"How much fire dust do you have?" The trick to killing a hydra was simple. Just cut off each head and lit each stump on fire to prevent the head from growing and multiplying. But he didn't have any source of fire, and Carl's powers were still sealed. The only practical solution would be to use fire dust.

"I only have one canister." Carl quickly shook his head upon hearing that.

"That's not going to be enough for an Ancient Hydra. I guess it's time for me to do it then." Yunero knew what he meant. After all, that was the only way to get enough fire, to unseal the Fires of Exort. But he doubted that Carl would just stop at using Exort alone. He would go for something much more flashy. Then again, it was the rule of magi. Magi were meant be flashy while being a powerful presence in the battlefield, and Carl was no exception to this matter. Hell, he might even be the personification of that rule with the sheer scale of his spells.

"Go ahead then, I'll buy you some time. Its main body should be here soon, judging by how the trees are shaking." As Carl began to take off his shirt, revealing the runes that hid his secret, the towering monster burst into the clearing with another loud roar. This time however, everyone seemed to be able to better withstand it. The Hydra's main body was black, and it had six towering heads that threatened to consume them.

"What the f-" Yunero chose to cut off Cardin, immediately dishing out instructions.

"Weiss, Ruby. Do not try to cut off their heads. For each head it loses, two will take its place. Pyrrha, Jaune. Use your shields to defend and deflect. Do not go on the offense. I will try to make the Hydra focus on me. We need to buy Carl a bit of time, then we back off. Clear?"

No one really had any time to respond, as two heads began the first assault, charging towards Yunero himself. It seemed that the Grimm had been intelligent enough to deem that Yunero was the greatest threat, while the rest were nothing more than small fry, hence the two heads aimed at him. If he wasn't wrong, the Hydra had it's heads cut off three times, resulting in the six. Two of its heads remained idle, probably guarding for any attacks while the other four attacked. One went for Weiss and Ruby, while the last one went for Jaune and Pyrrha.

"Resaranda, Ignis Exoro!" Carl had taken off his shirt, not bothering to hide the runes that decorated the upper torso of his body. The right section of the runes glowed, before three orbs floated out from that section. The orbs were the soul of a phoenix, the very flames of a phoenix condensed into such a small form. Granted, fire was destructive. But the fires of a Phoenix took it to a whole new level. The flames were said to be as hot as the sun itself, and it knew nothing that could not be burnt, hence making a Phoenix a force to be reckoned with. What made the flames even stronger was the fact that "From destruction comes rebirth". That was a law of the World that could not be denied, and any living creature that had any understanding of any law of the World would have their prowess magnified by a lot.

How Carl got his hands on it was something that Yunero didn't know, but to condense it into such a form was even more of a mystery for him. If he had to guess, he had either subdued it or he'd come across one by chance. Phoenixes were rarely caught off guard. The only time that one could even hope to get a hold of the soul of a Phoenix was during the time when they entered the Supernova stage, when all their life force had been burnt up by the sheer destructiveness of their flames. But to get close was almost impossible, due to the fact that the heat radiating from a Supernova was capable of turning an area within a few miles into a desert. Of course, the heat was also capable of turning any living being into ash, unless one had enough protection to be able to withstand the heat to destroy the Supernova, before attempting to capture the soul with a vessel.

"How much longer, Carl?"

"Give me another 60 seconds! My body needs time to adapt!" Yunero sighed. It seemed that he would have to resort to another technique. Sheathing the Blackened Edge, he unsheathed the Serrakura, ready to test out his latest technique. Granted, it was hard enough to come up with this technique and to manage to create it, and he hadn't fully mastered this technique yet. It was time to go for broke.

"Everyone, retreat. Make sure you are at least behind Carl. I will buy Carl sometime to do what he needs to do." Somehow, everyone had repelled the heads for one time, and they weren' t exactly in the best of shapes. For one, the Grimm wave from earlier had chunked through some of their auea,ans the hydra heads that they had been facing were relentless. Only Yunero appeared to be in good shape, and he didn't even look winded.

"But what about you? You can't possibly face that thing alone?" Yunero sighed. These people were only courting their death.

"There is a fine line between bravery and stupidity. I can hold the Hydra off alone and retreat safely afterwards, but what about you all?" The others winced, as they knew how Yunero was speaking the truth. Yunero shook his head sadly. Honestly, it was only because of the rules of society that they were acting like this. From young, they had all been taught the "greatness" of a huntsman, but none of them simply knew how dangerous it was, after all. Then again, none of them had lived through entire wars where a single mistake could instantly cost your life. It was as if this system of Remnant advocated sacrifice.

"You all may be courageous, but courage alone can only bring you so far. Now, **retreat**." The Hydra heads began their assault once more, but he swiftly sliced a head off, provoking the other Hydra heads which had been chasing the others earlier as they began their reluctant retreat. Good. He would need them to be far away to have the space to perform his technique.

Jaune's POV

Jaune hated the feeling of being useless. But Yunero had been right, no matter how much he wanted to deny it. He hated the fact that he couldn't do shit, and he was worried that Yunero would be overwhelmed by the number of heads. After all, what chance did he stand against the swiftness and numbers of those things? And how was he going to shake the head that was chasing off their tails?

His question was answered a second later by Yunero, as a loud thudding sound was heard, the indication of something heavy dropping onto the forest floor. He didn't dare to believe his eyes, as he managed to reach the area behind Carl and turned around. Yunero had chopped off a Hydra's head? That was simply too...

"What in the world is goi-" Jaune internally groaned. As if this situation needed any more complications... How were they supposed to explain to Professor Goodwitch that they had left Yunero to defend against an Ancient Grimm while Carl prepared something that could perhaps not work? This was starting to get bad. Really bad.

"Yang? Blake? Professor Goodwitch?" Ruby voiced out her surprise, but paused in her stride.

The three aforementioned people stayed silent however, looking at the Grimm that Yunero was combating. Actually, wait. They were looking at Yunero? Jaune turned to face Yunero as well, who was unmoving as another two heads had sprouted from earlier within a matter of twenty seconds or so, making for a grand total of 7 heads. Five heads charged at Yunero, but in that instant, Yunero disappeared in a blinding slash. Now that he got a good look at Yunero, he realised how hard it was for his eyes to keep up with the swordsman. Sure, he'd seen some fast battles before, but Yunero took the definition of "fast" to the next level. It was as if his body blurred, as all they could see was the path of the sword as it connected with the first head. The first head tried to rear back while the others attacked, but it was too late.

Sonething strange happened however, as it did not decapitate the head unlike the first time. Instead, it left a circle of Sakura petals that continuously swirled around the head that he had just attacked. What was going on? Then another blinding flash occurred, and the second head that had been attacked also suddenly wore the same mark as the first head. Another blinding flash, another mark. Another blinding flash, another mark. This was repeated, and even the two heads that had been been staying back to prevent any surprise attacks weren't spared. What was going on? All the while, each head had tried to either get it off or attack Yunero, but nothing was working as Yunero easily slipped between the defences of the Hydra and planted the mark.

"Yunero! What are you doing?" Yunero had suddenly appeared in front of them, Serrakura still unsheathed. Ignoring them, he slowly sheathed the blade, as the Hydra heads began another assault, this time aiming for them with all 7 heads, clearly going for broke.

" _ **Arrival of Spring: Mark of the Sakura**_." In that single moment, he heard it clearly, as if it had been whispered into his ears. At that same instance, Yunero sheathed his sword, and the heads of the Hydras imploded. He stared wide-eyed at the scene, as did the others. After all, it was not everyday that they saw a Grimm implode on themselves, all caused by a single huntsman. The heads began to regrow, the sprouting of an extra head from each stump already evident as it began to regrow. However, one thing was evident. The growth was much slower than before, probably due to the fact that the Hydra had to grow 14 heads at once now instead of two.

"Carl, do it. I've bought you more than enough time."

" **Exort Trionis!** " The moment Carl declared those two words, an immense heat began to gather in front of them. Even though they were behind Carl, they could still feel the heat that threatened to make him sweat profusely. A beam of something fell on the Hydra's main body, something which he couldn't really tell what it was. All Jaune really knew was that it made his eyes hurt a lot, just by looking at it. Without its heads, the Hydra was blind, but it still felt it. For some reason, Jaune felt as if that the Hydra would have roared if it had even a single head. A second later, something that he couldn't comprehend happened. A blast of something from the sky slammed into the Hydra with full force, incinerating everything around it while leaving behind a large crater. The Hydra wasn't spared, as he could see it literally disintegrate into nothingness, like how Grimm typically would. Except that the Hydra was dissolving into ash rather than into that blackish substance that Grimm typically dissolved into when killed.

A second later, the blast ended, leaving nothing but a crater behind. A crater that had to be at least 50 metres wide and a couple metres deep. He swallowed visibly. Was this the true power of Carl? To be able to devastate foes with nothing but a single move? And he'd thought that Carl had already shown his true power when he helped to hold back the Grimm tide, he pulled out something even stronger. Then he noticed something about Carl that he hadn't noticed before. Three flaming orbs circled around the top of his head continuously, as if held in some sort of orbit.

"What was that?" He finally dared to trust his voice to speak amongst the tense silence of the group. He quickly took a good look at the surroundings. Some of the trees had been singed by whatever that thing that Carl did was, while other trees were already on fire. Surprisingly though, the flames were dying out rather fast rather than burning with an even greater force even though there was plenty of fuel to power its destructive nature. The crater itself still emitted heat, as if a meteor from the heavens had smashed into the same exact space. Carl was terrifying. Truly terrifying. And Yunero too. He'd been able to decapitate all the heads with a single decisive technique. If it wasn't for the regenerative factor of the Hydra, it would have already been dead to Yunero.

"Whoever stands before me, stands briefly." That declaration from Carl served to only make the silence even more palpable. He shuddered. It might be true, after all.

"Carl, that side of yours is showing." Yunero merely sighed, ignoring the fact that Carl had declared that.

"Just let me have my fun for a while. It's rare that I get to do this." Jaune couldn't help but deadpan. It was as if these two had transcended the realm of ordinary people and were talking normally even though the rest were still in shock or something. It would have been funny, if it wasn't for the tense situation. And to think that Carl considered this fun.

"What was that?" Jaune repeated his question, eager to know as the shock from earlier began to wear off.

"My semblance. Fire is more than just a tool of destruction. But it does do quite an excellent job of annihilating my foes and the surroundings." And Carl shrugged off the question like it was nothing. While it was an answer, it was a rather vague one, leaving him to have even more questions as he thought about it.

"But isn't your semblance Alacrity?" Weiss pointed out, the rapid fire questions already beginning to come. Then again, everyone would of course have some sort of question after seeing that display of power and mastery over his semblance.

"Alacrity is merely one of the products of my semblance." Wait, what? Products? Semblance could have products? That was new. He quickly made a mental note of it.

"So what exactly is your semblance?" Ruby asked, her cheery attitude fueling the enthusiasm behind her questions as her eyes sparkled. "What does it do? How does it work?"

"It's a private matter." Jaune knew that it would be pointless to push any further, knowing that Carl wouldn't answer any more questions, so he withheld his next question.

"We will head back now. I will have a long talk with you and your team when we get back, Mr Winchester." Professor Goodwitch's voice pierced the air, making herself known as she began to make her walk away. While Cardin shuddered in fear, Jaune followed her, as well as the others, and he couldn't help but notice how much she fiddled with her scroll.

 **A/N: OwO what's this a double update? I was high/stoned when I wrote the two chapters, so I'm not too sure about the ideas that I put down. Regardless, Imma just post these two chapters because why not. I'll be updating my other fanfic, A Hidden World by the end of this week hopefully. Read: HOPEFULLY. I've got school, then I gotta head back to Malaysia for Chinese New Year so I'm not too sure as to when I'll be able to update it. But yeah.**

 **Some of you may be asking why I skip most part of Jaundice. I mean, the thing is, while Jaune is indeed undergoing that, most of the episode is only about him getting bullied by Cardin after Cardin discovers his secret. Jaundice Arc actually only comes to a closure during the events of Foreverfall, which was why I decided to do Forever Fall immediately. Sorry if the Forever Fall chapter is kinda short, but I got some ideas planned that's actually not cannon and will revolve around Yunero more. I've planned for it to happen after the White Fang robbery Arc or as I like to call it, Blake's Arc. Next chapter should be more of a filler one and the start to Blake's Arc.**

 **Hoped you guys enjoyed this chapter and leave a review if you guys think that there's room for improvement or any requests that you want! Some requests will be considered. Feel free to PM me if you want. Absurd requests are obviously not allowed and dun flame. I am only a amateur at this shit.**

 **On that note, peace out people! AND HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL CHINESE FOLKS!**

 **P.S. Rubrick Arcana is legit.**

 _ **Songs:**_

 _ **Stephen - Play me like A Violin**_

 _ **Panic! At The Disco - Say Amen(Saturday Night)**_

 _ **Honkai Impact 3 OST - Reburn (Idk why i was listening to this one but it's nice)**_

 _ **Celldweller - Louder than Words(Voicians Remix)**_

 ** _KUURO - What U Wanna Do ft Spencer Ludwig_**


	9. Book

_Warning: The following chapter features lore from DoTA 2 that is based on the loregasm video series by siractionslacks(Might include some of his headcannons as well, not sure if I added those in). If you want more complete lore, go and watch siractionslacks' loregasm videos. Also, next few chapters are going to be focused a bit more on Blake since her arc is coming up anyways. Not gonna lie, Blake is probably going to be the hardest character to write when it comes to RWBY so I'm sorry if I can't fully capture her character. _

_Vale_

Blake's POV

"Why are we here again?" While she is mentally groaning at the fact that she has to come out for a 'team outing', or so Ruby calls it, it helps that she can at least pick up a few more books.

"I've heard that students from Vacuo will be arriving by ship today. And it is my duty, as a representative of Beacon to welcome them!" Weiss declares with pride, although she doesn't buy it. Neither her partner or Ruby does as well.

"Pretty sure she just wants to spy on the students from Haven Academy to get an advantage or something like that," Yang responds, clearly bored as well. Weiss huffs in protest.

"You can't prove anything!" A blush spreads on the heiress' face, clearly lying through her teeth.

As they clear another turn, they find themselves staring at what appears to be a robbery of a store, a Dust shop to be precise. There are two detectives present. "Second robbery this week, huh? I can't believe we're getting called back by the Boss just for a robbery, Frank." There's a shattered window, with a door that's barely hanging by its hinges, rounded up by some yellow caution tape cordoning off the surrounding area.

"What happened here?" The detective who was talking earlier turns to them, about to shoo them away but the other one steps in.

"Dust robbery. Second time this week, No clue why all the Dust stores are getting hit. They even left the cash register alone, only the Dust got taken again." The second detective, Frank, answers for them. Weiss frowns.

"Aye. Doesn't even make any sense, who would need so much Dust? Dust prices are going to skyrocket even more at this rate, especially with the Vytal Festival coming."

"Pardon me, but who do you mean by 'they'?" Weiss interrupts the conversation.

"Of course the White Fang! There's some nasty rumour goin' on bout the White Fang. Supposedly they have been the ones helping to steal dust."

"Come on, let's get a beer. We ain't getting paid enough for this." With that, the two detectives promptly leave the four of them.

"What a bunch of degenerates!" Weiss grumbles softly, but Blake's ears pick it up. Even if they are covered by her bow, she can still hear the words spoken with venom dripping off the words.

"What's _your_ problem?" Blake cannot help but retaliate, but immediately realizes her mistake afterward. Still, she keeps up the defiance against Weiss. How dare _she_ speak ill of her race when she knows nothing of their hardship? The racism that they had to go through from young till now?

"My problem? My problem is that they are criminally insane!" Blake frowns at that statement.

"They aren't insane, they're just misguided!" That also happens to be the same reason why she left that place in the first place. She internally panics, as she realizes that it's heating up now. Could she maintain a cool facade and not reveal her connection to the very organization that Weiss clearly detests with a passion? "It wouldn't explain why they wanted to target a Dust Shop in the middle of Vale anyway!"

"It could be that Torchwick guy. The police still haven't caught him after that incident I had with him a few months ago." Blake shoots Ruby a grateful look, although seconds later, shouts are heard.

"Stop that fanus!" Oh no. That can't be good. The four of them turn to face the source of the shouts. A monkey fanus leaps away from a boat, with two sailors in tow. "You no-good stowaway!"

The detectives from earlier join in the chase as well, gaining a moment of respite as he pauses on a lamppost, peeling a banana. "What do you mean? I'm a good one, otherwise, I'll have been caught long ago by you guys!" He tosses the banana peel away and fully consumes the banana, before leaping off the lamppost, landing on the ground before running, with the sailors and detective giving chase. Said fanus proceeds to run past them and for a second, Blake could have sworn that he winked at her.

"Well, there goes the competition. I think." Her partner says, unsure.

"After him! We have to observe him!" Weiss cries, as she gives chase. It just proves that Yang is correct in assuming that Weiss wanted to spy on the competition. She doesn't chase immediately. Some thoughts still linger from her earlier quarrel with Weiss. How does the suffering of one individual justify the hate of an entire race? Had their changing ways actually done such psychological damage to Weiss? Yeah, sure, Weiss is clearly biased in her opinion against the White Fang. But the question now was, did her opinion of fanus kind as a whole match her opinion as a whole? Sighing, she begins to chase after her teammates, the sister duo already beginning to chase on Weiss' command.

As she finally manages to round the corner where her team had chased the monkey fanus into, she is greeted by Weiss who has somehow fallen on top of a girl who happens to be smiling? She's pretty sure people don't smile when someone has fallen on them but ok. The monkey fanus is nowhere to be seen, so clearly he managed to lose them.

"Uhh, Weiss?" Thankfully, Yang decides to point out the girl under the heiress, breaking the tense silence that had shrouded the area for a second. She gestures to the girl, who seems to be still smiling for some reason.

"Salutations!"

 _Tukson's Book Trade_

"I'll wait outside for you. Books aren't really my thing." Blake nods, as she walks into the familiar bookstore. The situation with Penny had certainly been... odd. It was as if her social skills weren't tempered enough to respond to different situations accordingly and instead had a single one-track mind on how to deal with all the situations, which happened to be her cheerful personality that seemed to be ignorant of certain concepts, such as friends until now. If the reaction to Ruby calling her a friend is of any indication.

Tukson is standing behind the counter, greeting her with a warm smile. "Ah, Blake. Here for more reading material?" She merely nods her head at the smiling fanus. Should she ask a recommendation from him this time? Tukson was the one who had introduced her to The Man with Two Souls, after all.

"Do you have a recommendation?" She decides to go with it. A break from Ninjas of Love could be good and anything that Tukson recommends is bound to be something that can keep her occupied for a while.

"Here." Tukson pulls out a rather hefty looking book from a shelf behind him. She blinks. There is a title in black, but the cover of the book is a mix of blue and green at the front, with black and red mixing at the back. No illustrations or any other text and such are present. "I brought this book along with me into Vale when I first came here. You should give it a read, it'll keep you up for several weeks at least." War of the Ancients. That was all that was written on the cover of the book.

"What is it about?" Tukson doesn't give much of an answer, merely beckoning her to take the book. She takes the book, opening it. There are a few words on the first page, written by someone. Is this book actually handwritten?

 _'For those who fought, lived and died as heroes._

 _May our deeds be never forgotten._

 _-Auroth'_

She takes a deep breath, as she slowly takes in those words. For some reason, the words alone seem to tempt her to read the book, even if it doesn't reveal much at all. It also appears that the author might have written a self-insert book of sorts. "How much is it?"

"You can have it for free. I would normally not give this book to anyone else, but I think you should have it. This book is a real eye-opener, I'll tell you that. I didn't know there could be such a level of writing until I read it myself." She eagerly flips to the next page of the book. There are five words, nothing more although she can already see the wall of text on the page after this one.

 _The Ancients:_

 _Their Origins_

Alright, she should stop for now. While reading about the Ancients themselves already sounds quite tempting, it can wait, but for now, she should go head back soon. Yang's most likely away going to get impatient if she doesn't get out soon. "Thank you for the book, Tukson." She doesn't stand on courtesy, as she takes the book with a rare smile. It is surprisingly light, considering how big it looks. It is roughly the size of Pyrrha's shield but smaller. "I'll be going now."

"A few things first. That girl outside. She your partner?" Her shoulders sink slightly. She had hoped Tukson wouldn't ask about that.

"Yes." She admits reluctantly.

"Why don't you tell her about your heritage?" She bites the inside of her cheek. "Why hide it under that bow of yours?"

"I..." She can't really come up with a proper response. There's really nothing to admit, other than one thing. But how can she admit it? Instead, she picks another route, one that will allow her to back off safely for now. "There's a Schnee on my team. If I let them know who I am right now, it might cause my team to fracture."

"So you've got some team issues, huh? A Schnee no less. That's rather tricky. But if there's any advice I can give you, make sure you reveal yourself to them before they discover it themselves. Trust me, it becomes much more worse when they find out by themselves." She can only nod. "One final thing. Are there two people called Carl and Yunero in Beacon?"

"How do you know?" Now she's confused. How did he know of Yunero and Carl? A thought races to the forefront of the mind, one that she hesitantly voices out. "Are they... targets?" They potentially could be, given how they were two very skilled warriors who could outclass her easily. And since they are humans, it's safe to say that they might have been marked.

"No, it's not them. Someone else asked me to do a quick check to confirm something, nothing more." Tukson reassures her quickly, and she sighs. But who would actually check for the two of them, if not the White Fang? She buries that question deep in her mind, leaving the store quickly as Tukson waves goodbye. For now, she didn't want to be at the store any longer than needed.

"So what did you get?" Yang asks curiously, as she finally exits the bookstore. She shows Yang the plain-looking book. "No Ninjas of Love? Let me see what it's all about." Yang reaches out for the book, grabbing it before Blake can even react. "Huh, it's pretty light."

Yang begins flipping open the pages, skipping past the first hundred pages or so before she stops. "Please don't spoil me." Yang shows her the page that she's looking at.

"Kind of looks pretty cool, doesn't it?" She can only nod dumbly, as she stares at the drawing. It is of a dagger, that has a glowing orange sharp edge to it, with a couple of words written at the bottom. It's a technique? She squints her eyes, beginning to read the name and the description.

 _*i*n**a_

 _Your foes will pray that you have the mercy to spare them. *i*n**a is a special technique, taught to me by a former mentor. The moment you cast it, there are two ways it will go. Your blade will instinctively seek out vital tendons and joints to incapacitate your foe or your blade is enhanced for the next strike, with slicing power strong enough to rival the *e**a***a and perhaps, even more, depending on how much you pour into the technique. If you master this technique, you can target vital organs too, ending lives with ease. It also has its uses in combat. A swift, decisive strike with_ _*i*n**a_ _can immediately put an end to your opponent's resistance. Especially if you want him alive._

 _Instructions on how to cast this are on the next page. If you can read the name of this technique by the time you read to this page, you will be qualified to learn the technique._

"So what does it say?" She is confused and horrified too. Yang can't read the text at all? And she can't read the name of the technique? The technique name looks blurred, but she can make out a few letters. There are definitely more words at the back of the page, but if the text is right then there's no point in her flipping back. And the worst part is, it makes it sound as if it is a technique used for assassinations for the most part.

"Nothing much." She takes the book from Yang, closing it. 'What kind of book did you just give me?' She is tempted to turn back to the bookstore and ask Tukson, but the events from earlier stop her from doing so. Screw it, she'll go back and start reading the book. She folds the page to make a note on it instinctively. Who knows, it might prove useful someday? Yeah, right. Like she actually needs techniques

But first of all, she should probably send a text to Yunero to warn him about Tukson's digging, with a bit of pleading to not injure the fanus. Tukson is merely a civilian who's also an information broker. While she feels bad for sort of betraying him, he never said to keep his digging quiet. Also, Tukson's probing has subtly hinted that Yunero and Carl have a connection to the underworld of Vale. Or they have caught the attention of someone. She can only hope that the two hunters-in-training do not hurt Tukson.

 _Dorm_

The moment she enters her room, she ditches the rest of her purchases on her bookshelf, climbing onto her bed with "War of the Ancients" at hand. She swiftly flips to the third page, where the introduction of the Ancients begins. There are some pictures on one page and a wall of text on the other.

 _"Radiant and Dire_ _. Two entitles. How did they come to be?_

 _Zet, otherwise known as the Arc Warden, the jailor himself probably has the complete answer. Some consider him the Third Ancient since it was said that his inception was alongside the first two, maybe slightly later. I, however, believe that the term "Ancient" does not suit him._

 _Anyway. Suffice to say, they are fragments. Fragments of a bigger whole that can never be pieced together again. That is my conjuncture._

 _This bigger whole. What was it? It was the Primordial Mind. The Primordial Mind's existence dates back to way before the universe was created, but no one knows wht it truly is. Maybe Zet or the Elder Titan truly knows what it existed when there was nothing but void._

 _But when the universe was created with The Big Bang, it shattered. Two fragments gained sentience._ _They were known as Radinthul and Diruulth respectively, changing their names to_ _The Radiant and The Dire much later_

 _Their very nature caused them to clash with each other, much like fire and water._

 _If Radiant was tranquility, intelligence, and creation._

 _Then Dire was violence, strength, and destruction._ _"_

Oh. These Ancients. They certainly sound interesting so far and according to the title of the book, it sounds as if the war would eventually revolve around these two things. And the fighting had already begun. But there's no way the book will end so fast, right? And what did the book mean by Zet being a jailor? Blake eagerly looks at the next several lines.

 _"They did not want to co-exist. They would not co-exist._

 _Having tasted the sweet fruit that was freedom much like a newborn spreading its wings for their first flight while refusing to acknowledge that they were once the same, they began to fight._

 _It was a glorious battle, one where life and death were certain. If not for someone's intervention._

 _Zet, the Arc Warden. He was the only one who acknowledged the fact that they were all once the same and made it his mission to reunite with all the fragments. However, the Ancients could not be reunited. That much he knew._

 _With a single stroke, he imprisoned the Radiant and Dire in a moon, before hurling it into the far reaches of space, before it finally stopped and began to orbit around what was seemingly an unremarkable planet._

 _For eons, it sat in orbit, with no reaction and with Zet acting as the warden._

 _But Zet had overlooked a simple fact."_

So this Zet was more powerful than the two combined? He had to be, or else he wouldn't be able to imprison them with such ease. But what did one as mighty as Zet overlook? There's something, isn't there?

 _"He imprisoned them within a corporeal body._

 _The Ancients could still wage war. Just not by direct means._

 _Corruption. That was the very first step._

 _That was the new way to wage war. With their nature, the Ancients began to corrupt the physical space around them, the Moon itself which eventually became known as the Mad Moon._

 _The two beings transferred themselves into the rock that was the Mad Moon, and soon it became a race to see who could dominate more of the limited space on the Moon. The rock that made up the Moon turned into something... more mystical._

 _But with all things come limits. Limits that the Ancients easily surpassed. The Mad Moon could no longer hope to fully contain them and soon enough, it was sundered._

 _Plunging them into the fertile planet down below, in the form of ore. Filled with endless possibilities"_

No way. Trying to dominate the moon and actually managing to destroy it? And that was only the first step? Impossible. This writer surely knew how to write. She had to be only several pages in, five to ten at most, but the writer was already talking about how they waged war with Corruption being only the first step.

 _"_ _Radiant and Dire were still trapped. In the form of the ore. The ore that made up Radiant and Dire were called Radiant and Dire._

 _Not the most creative names, I know._

Blake had to agree with the author. While they were simple names, they were indeed far too simple names for stones that had been supposedly infected by cosmic entities.

 _Any native on the planet that got close to it, their fates were... rather grim. Some considered it to be a fate worse than death. They were corrupted by the exposure, their free will overwritten and forced to take on appearances that related to the Ancients._

 _Anytime the natives that belonged to either side met the other side, it was sure to be a bloody battle._

 _The ore not only changed them, but it also made them stronger. Swifter, stronger and more intelligent. Some even gained magic powers thanks to its properties._

 _Some stayed far away from the ore, not trusting it. Others coveted it so badly, they built entire villages surrounding it, due to its potent magic._

 _But it changed them all the same. None of them knew that the ores were actually cosmic entitles. None of them knew of the corruption that slowly crept upon them. Some knew but chose to keep mum about it and embraced the changes anyway._

 _Eventually, they were all changed into what we call "Creeps"(For information on creeps, see Chapter: Units, Page 4)._

 _These creeps waged battles against each other, based on whether they were Radiant and Dire._

If there were such drastic changes, where was Zet? That was the biggest question on Blake's mind right now. Zet should have been able to detect such a change and do something about it. Fortunately, as she flips onto the next page, there is a drawing of Zet and the first line pokes at her curiosity. Zet looks...eccentric, to say the least. He has a blue body, some parts covered by black armor while his torso is almost completely exposed. Two yellow eyes indicate where his eyes are, amongst a sphere of blue that was his head.

 _"Now you might be wondering, where was Zet? Why didn't he do anything about this?_

 _He had tried. He tried to contain them within the moon when the first signs of corruption showed but failed. He expended much of his power maintaining the integrity of the moon, a decision which cost him dearly._

 _He'd been flung elsewhere, fragmented even further. (For more information on Zet and his fate, see Chapter: Heroes, page 6.)_

 _But for now, the Radiant and the Dire. The creeps began to fight all-out wars._

 _Heroes were attracted to these fights soon enough, and they began to fight, brainwashed as well. It all depended on who was closest to which type of ore._

 _Now the question is, who will win? Who would emerge victorious, to triumph over the other?_

 _Unfortunately, the answer is not so easily arrived at. That is all I can say._

 _This is the origin of the war. I can safely say that there is much more to this war, which will be covered in the next few chapters."_

Blake blinks. That's the end of the first chapter? She sighs, reluctantly closing the book. While she wants to read more, she should probably stop for now. What kind of book did Tukson even give her? The book, so far, has been written as if the events have occurred before while the author has experienced it. And that technique she read about, what could it even do?

She reaches for Gambol Shroud, but her stomach grumbles loudly in disagreement. So a meal first then. As she hops off her bed, she feels her bones cracking, even with the slightest movements. How long had she stayed on the bed for?

Tukson's POV

He stares at the screen. While the number is private with no picture, he fully knows who he's talking to. One of the deadliest, if not the deadliest people on Remnant. After all, someone who'd made it on the Bingo book of all four Kingdoms and still could evade capture with ease is someone who you do not mess with. "Yeah, I've gotten your info. It's confirmed, they're there."

"Thank you. I'll need you to keep an eye on Vale for a bit longer than. If you can, try to get a bit more information on those two." The other voice is pretty soft as of now, but he knows that the owner of the voice could silt his throat extremely easily if he so wished it, a softness that does not match the likes of a murderer.

"Why?"

"Let's just say... they will be some of the key factors in the events to come." As usual, anything other than his instructions tends to be cryptic all the time.

"Alright. Two more things. Firstly, I believe I've been marked." Tukson decides to go for a gamble. After all, it's either this, a chance for survival or death.

"Marked? Ah. That might be a problem and I can't exactly have one of my best information brokers in Vale dying on me. Especially when there have been plans set in motion." Plans? What kind of plans are he talking about? And did he just agree to help him?

"What events are you talking about? And I thought you had Hei Xiong as another broker?"

"The kind that will shock the entire world. Don't worry too much about it. As for Hei Xiong, his club recently got trashed." Alright, that settles it. His employer clearly had some information hidden up his sleeve and it isn't something that he's willing to listen about, even if he didn't dodge the subject. "Luckily for you, I'm about to head into Vale right now for another contract. I'll be busy for the next twelve hours though. Should be enough time before they get to you. So what's the other thing?"

"Thank you. Your book. I've given it away." He steels himself, knowing what's about to come.

"I hope you know what that entails, Tukson." Immediately, he can feel himself freeze up as he somehow feels killing intent through the phone, even though his employer is supposed to be several tens of kilometers away. He'd already prepared but still, it wasn't enough for him to feel as if his death imminent. Clearly, the book has some crazy value for him. That much he knew when he first got his hands on it. Then the man himself came along and confirmed something that he hadn't dared to believe, even after he'd finished reading the book. "Not even the fortune of the Four Kingdoms combined could cover it if that book falls into the wrong hands."

His employer did emphasize how valuable the book was. Plus, the motto of 'Knowledge is Power' is something that he has been living by, which is a given since he's also an information broker. Which is also how he found out about an attempt on his life in advance. "I do. I've given it to a girl. Her name's Blake Belladonna."

"Blake Belladonna? The daughter of Ghira and Kali. Interesting choice. I hope your judgment doesn't fail you, or you know what that entails." With that, the call is disconnected. However, he can still feel the threats from earlier lingering, as if blood would really flow if things happened. Actually, his throat being silt by his employer would be the most merciful act possible.

The book held some secrets that he hadn't thought possible, secrets that defied everything he knew. The kind that could cause wars as governments fought over it. And such a book was now in the hands of a 17-year-old girl who had no idea that one of the most dangerous men on Remnant was going to start keeping tabs on her.

"I can only hope you don't misuse it, Blake." He mutters as he begins to close the shop for the night. Was giving the book to Blake truly the right choice? While he'd been told that it could be given to anyone, he knows of the risks involved. For one, it involved his employer slitting the throat of anyone else who wasn't a recipient of the book reading even a single page of the book.

He understood why such information had to be kept under wraps. Some people had lips that could be loosened easily and if any of the Kingdoms were to find out that some of the individuals or in some cases, a group existed here, the price to pay would be more than what they could afford to. Not even sky-high could fully cover the scope of it Especially since many of the individuals mentioned in the book that he read about seemed to have the capability to decimate entire armies.

Some had sheer, overwhelming power that few to none could match, and the few were other individuals in the book. There was an old saying that he'd read from a Mistralian book. "Before absolute strength, everything else is nothing." While he didn't know the exact meaning, he knew that the quote had to be associated with those individuals that were said to be capable of crushing anything with their bare hands and weapons alone. After all, crushing was not the same as cutting.

Others had talents that allowed them to disorient the enemy or pure, unadulterated speed, capable of performing guerilla warfare and striking fast and hard before fading into the shadows. It was a tactic that had withstood the test of time, given how the White Fang still employs it even to this every day when they plan to strike one of the Schnee mines in Atlas.

Yet, there were others who were capable of the one very thing that he'd thought to be a fairy tale. _Magic_. That notion was ridiculous at first until he'd been given a first-hand demonstration by his employer. Some of the individuals used it on a minor scale, as his employee had stated. Others, however, possessed the capability to decimate entire landscapes until the land was nothing more than a scorching desert or a glacial landscape.

He shuddered. The thoughts of those beings _terrified_ him, especially since one of those beings happened to be his employer. He sighs. Blake would have to keep that book safe. He'd learnt that there was one and only one circumstance when his employee wouldn't slit an eyewitness' throat. If the eyewitness had a copy of the book as well. But what are the chances?

He begins to walk to the doors. However, two figures appear in the doorway. While their postures and facial expressions are relaxed, his instincts are screaming at him to run away, as he feels the gaze of the sword wielder on the left bore through him. Although, the handle of that sword that one of the two had on his left seemed somewhat familiar. He could have sworn he saw that somewhere before.

He is snapped back to reality by the low, cool voice of one of the two. "So, I heard someone was asking about us?" Tukson swallows as he stares at the two silhouettes. Him against two Huntsman-in-training? This was not how he planned his night to go. Damm it, Blake.

 **A/N:** **So there's the book. Why does it exist? I figured since Auroth was a poet of sorts, she would want the War to be recorded down no matter what. Her lore's also pointing towards something like this: "But she is not content to stand as a protagonist of heroic lore. She wants to create it." So yeah, there's a concept behind the books and yes, it's extremely valuable since like you guys saw, there's someone's technique written within the book. But why only Gondar's and not any other hero? That's going to be revealed later in the story.**

 **Also, yes, I've planned out how this book will go. Spoilers ahead, I guess.**

 **Yunero will don the mask again, yes. There's no point in writing this fanfic if the Heroes aren't going to fight a threat that's equal to them or higher up because it'll become a few OP people blazing through the RWBY canon story.**

 **Also, my apologies for not updating any story for the last couple months or so. There's been a lot of irl stuff that I had to deal with recently, which also threw off my entire schedule. Also had a writer's block of sorts and I decided to take a break so yeah. A Hidden World - Reimagined is around 50% done for the next chapter, and KR Build x RWBY is around 20% done as well.**

 **Anyways, I hoped you guys enjoyed this chapter and leave a review if you guys think that there's room for improvement or any requests that you want! Some requests will be considered. Feel free to PM me if you want. Absurd requests are obviously not allowed and dun flame. I am only an amateur at this.**

 **On that note, peace out people!**


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